Winged Puppets
by nightwings93
Summary: "The strings tugged at my leg, making it move against my will. The strings dug into my ankle as my leg stretched too far above my head. Blood fell from the sky and landed on my forehead. I watched as Fang was forced into a similar pose. We had to get out"
1. Chapter 1

**Ok…so this isn't the cross over that I'm doing with my friend. I was cleaning my room last weekend and I found an old notebook with this story in it. I wrote it like 4 years ago. I'm touching it up and posting it on FanFic. **

**Yeah…I guess I can't just stick to writing one thing at a time. So, I'll be working on this FanFic and my second book at the same time. So, for those of you who are reading this FanFic and read Drom Ride… I'm baaaaaack! Haha. **

**Just a note, if you are thinking of copying this FanFic and posting it on another website like someone did with Dorm Ride: don't do it. 'Cause I'll find out. And honestly, how lame is it to take someone else's work and pretend it's your own? **

**Anyway, so this story is with wings, but things are changed around a bit to fit the plot. This one is a lot darker and creepier than Dorm Ride. It's kinda on a different spectrum. But, no worries, I promise FAX. The "re"-inspiration to rewrite this story came when I drew a really creepy picture of a ballerina forced to dance on puppet strings. Ok, enough talk. Time to write. **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Prologue: Max POV

I was violently woken from my sleep by a loud "BANG" sounding from the opposite end of the house. I snapped into sitting position, widening my eyes so they could adjust to the darkness of my room. I strained my ears and could hear loud angry voices coming from the direction of my parents' room. All my senses went on hyper alert. Was someone breaking into our house? Do they have a weapon? Are my parents okay?

Thoughts racing, I hopped out of bed as soundlessly as possible. I did a quick scan of my body: sleep shorts and a tank top. I wasn't going to be much help to my parents of I went to them like this. As quickly as possible, I opened my closet and put on a pair of thickly soled hiking boots. Quietly opening my bedroom door, I crept down the hall and into the kitchen. Stealthily, I opened a drawer and extracted a large knife- the kind that you use to carve a turkey. My fighting teacher had always instructed me not to go into a fight with a weapon I couldn't use, but I can use a knife and if I'm outnumbered, I'll need it. Grabbing a dish towel, I slipped the knife into my put and tied it to my leg.

Tip-toeing out of the kitchen, I passed through the living room and started down the hallway to my parents' room. My breath was coming out in short puffs and my heart threatened to hammer out of my chest. I tried to take a calming breath, fearing my labored breathing and beating heart could be heard a mile away, but failed. I reached my parents' door and crouched behind the decorative plant that stood in the hallway. My dad had always wanted to get rid of that plant. Now, I'm glad he didn't.

I peeked through the crack in the slightly ajar door. There were about four men with their backs facing the door. There was also another man in a three piece business suit talking to parents. He had a gun in his hand. Swallowing hard, I focused on the four men in front of the door and began formulating a plan of attack. As I though, I could hear snatches of what the man with the gun was saying. His voice was sickeningly sweet.

"You just had to be noble and run away. What, did you suddenly develop consciences?" The man was saying.

Taking a deep breath and counting backwards from ten to calm my jittery nerves and spiking adrenaline, I put my plan into action. I popped out from behind the plant and kicked the door in as hard as I could. As I expected, the door swung in and the door knob connected with the first man's tail bone. He gave a small whimper of pain and dropped to his knees. Not wasting a second, I snapped a side-kick to his head. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, making my movements stronger and quicker. Standing a little behind the first man's crumpled body; I turned to face my next opponent: fists raised, ready for the coming fight.

I froze and my fists dropped. The man with the gun laughed.

"You were expecting humans, right?" He chuckled.

I didn't pay attention to what he was saying. My eyes were locked with the large black, pupilless eyes of the beasts in before me. Their skin was so pale it was almost see through. Blue veins popped out like rivers on a map against their paper-white skin. Their noses were flat, more like slits. Like Voldemort from the _Harry Potter _films. Gills were etched into the sides of their necks and their long, sharp fingers were webbed. One of the creatures sneered, revealing five rows of sharp, jagged teeth. The smell of decaying flesh and blood seemed to waft from his open mouth. Instinctively, I took a step back. They were sharks. Sharks mixed with men.

"Odette, honey, run. Don't stay," my mother's voice sounded. It was broken and distant.

I tore my gaze from the shark men and looked at my parents. They were huddled together: their skin pulled tight across their faces and their eyes big. They looked so small. Like small frightened children who had just woken from a nightmare. Only, this nightmare was real. Very real.

I couldn't abandon them.

Setting my jaw and squaring my shoulders, I resumed my fighting stance. The shark men scoffed.

"Well, I really want to see how she handles this," the man in the suit snickered as he lowered his gun.

Using the six feet I had between me and the sharks, I got a running start and jumped high in the air. I snapped out my right leg and spun around in the air like I was doing a spin kick. Only, I missed on purpose. As my back faced the shark men in mid spin, I removed the knife I had fasted to my ankle. Then, the spin coming full circle, placed my body facing the sharks. I brought up my knife and as gravity took me down, the knife plunged into the shark man's chest.

The world froze. My feet hit the ground and everything stopped. My right arm, extended at eye-level, was splattered in green blood and held onto the knife which was securely lodged in the shark's heart. A spreading stain of green appeared on the shark man's white e-neck around the handle of the knife.

The shark man's eyes bulged. The blackness of his eyes seemed to leak from the sockets and pour into my soul. I couldn't take it. My eyes slid away from the shark's face and sought out the figures of my parents. They were clutches each others' hands and looking at me with eyes the size of dinner plates. I felt ashamed. I've never killed anything before. I hate killing. I think it's evil and wrong even I the one being killed is a hideous creature like this shark man. But, it was either the sharks' lives or my parents' lives.

The frozen world was suddenly thawed as the man in the suit twitched his arm. The arm that held the gun. I quickly pulled the knife from the shark man's body. Partially, so I could protect my parents but, also so I could get away from the dying body. I stumbled back slightly as the knife stubbornly loosened its grip on the shark's heart. Green blood bubbled and spurted from the deep wound the knife had left in its place. A line of green trickled out of the man's mouth and a strange gurgling noise sounded form his throat. He dropped to his knees and flopped over on his face.

Turning my body away, but keeping the other two shark men in peripherals, I faced the man in the suit with my bloody knife raised. The man in the suit smirked. He raised his arms and started clapping.

"That was impressive. You killed on of my sharks and knocked out the other." He laughed then quickly sobered. He turned to my parents. "You did the right thing sending her to fighting school. She's also quite graceful. I like that." He faced me again. "Sadly, it's time for this fairy tale dream to end."

Then, quick as lightening before I could react, he spun and shot my dad in the head and my mom in the stomach. Their bodies jerked up with the forces of the bullets then they came crashing forward. Blood was everywhere. Everything was blood.

"NO!" I screamed.

I dropped my knife, pushed past the man, and dropped to my knees next to my parents. I could faintly hear a girl shrieking "no" over and over. I barely even realized that I was the girl. I placed my hand over my mom's stomach, trying to staunch the flow of blood. There was no point in trying to save my dad. Parts of his brain were scattered across the ground in the lake of blood that was flowing from his broken head. He was already gone.

My mom's eyes flickered. "Odette, honey, let go. No…use." She winced but smiled up at me through the pain. "I love you." Her eyes rolled back in her head and her stomach stopped rising and falling.

Numbly, I moved back. I looked down at my hands. They were drenched in red blood and splattered with the green on the shark man's blood. It was never going to wash off. Stiffly, I rose and turned to the man in the suit. Red haze coated my vision. I wanted to kill him. I didn't hate killing so much anymore. I wanted to torture him. I wanted to make him suffer like I was suffering. I bent down and picked up my knife.

He clucked his tongue, "I'll have none of that now. Boys, restrain her."

A blur of white moved from in front of me and before I knew it, the sharks had hold of my arms and legs. I struggled but it was no use. They were too strong. The man in the suit walked up to me. He stopped inches from my body. He was too close.

"It's so good to finally have you back in my arms, Odette." His arms came around my neck. I stiffened. "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day."

He pinched the nerve in my neck. I felt my body go slack and the world around me began to darken. Just before I lost consciousness, I was aware of a sharp pain in my right arm. But, my body wasn't listening to me, so I didn't get a chance to see what it was before I slipped into total darkness.

**Ok, so I know it was short…but that was just the prologue. The chapters will be waaaay longer. I swear. **

**So, in case you're wondering…Odette is Max…but that'll be explained in the next chapter. So, it's a lot different than Dorm Ride, as I'm sure you noticed. But, even though it's different, I hoped you liked it! Let me know! **

**Nightwings93. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okie dokie…so an actual chapter now! Yay **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93**

Chapter One: Fang POV:

I sat with my knees pulled against my chest and my back rested against our cage door. I was trying to occupy as little space as possible so the rest of the flock could splay out while they slept.

My wings felt pinched as they dug into the metal of the cage's bars, but I forced myself not to notice. If I was closest to the cage door, I would be picked first for tests in the morning and the flock would be able to get a few extra hours of rest. I pushed my consciousness out of the confines of my mind and probed the sleeping brains of my flock. None of them were having nightmares. I breathed a small sigh of relief. Deciding it was safe to relax for a while; I jammed my hand in my shorts' pocket and took out small objects that were hidden there. I looked down at their small triangular shapes in my hands and counted them. They were all there.

I rearranged the smooth, polished items into various shapes and figures while letting my mind wander. This was closest I ever got to sleeping.

I was just starting to unwind and my muscles were relaxing when I picked up the thoughts of blood thirsty sharks. I stuffed the objects back in my pocket and made sure my body was blocking the cage door as much as possible.

The door to our small room swung open and light from the hallway poured in. Angel stirred slightly in her spot at the back of the cage but didn't wake. My body tensed with apprehension. There was another presence with the sharks but it was guarding its mind…so, it had to be _him. _He was the only one who could keep me out of his head.

Two sharks carrying an unconscious girl covered in blood came into my line of vision. They were looking at with such longing and their thoughts were racing. They wanted to devour her. My stomach clenched and my eyebrows knitted together. It was sick. They opened the smaller cage that was next to ours and threw the girl. They weren't even trying to be careful.

"Leave," his voice ordered. I knew it was him.

His three piece business suit clad body walked over to the cage. It was definitely him. He was the only one arrogant enough to parade around in a three thousand dollar suit in this hell-hole.

He knelt down in front of the cage, stuck his arm through the open door and caressed her cheek. I turned away, repulsed.

"You're about to become even more beautiful," he murmured. He pulled his now covered in blood hand back and closed the cage door. He stood and turned to leave but stopped in front of our cage. "I thought I felt your surly gaze burning holes into my back, Fang." He gestured to the new girl in the cage. "Pretty, isn't she? She's finally going to complete the set. Now, Father's dream can come true." He started walking away. Just as he reached the door, he turned his head and said, "I know she's closer to your age than mine but don't get any ideas. She's mine. Oh, and Fang, try and get some sleep. You look awfully pale and tomorrow's tests will be grueling." He chuckled and walked out closing the door behind him, plunging our room back into darkness.

**Max POV: **

Fragments of the strange dream I had had the night before replayed in my mind as I shifted on my mattress. The bed was firmer than I remember. And colder. And devoid of blankets. I moved again, trying to find a more comfortable spot. The part of my nightmare played and over and over.

I watched from the sky, it seemed, as my parents were shot. Their bloody deaths were playing on a loop and I couldn't escape. I had to open my eyes. If I did, I would wake up in my soft bed at home and walk into the kitchen to find my parents making coffee.

The darkness was still pressing down on me and all I could see were the broken and bloodied bodies of my parent. _Wake up. _I urged myself. _Wake up! _I pushed against the smothering blackness. I finally broke through and sat bolt upright, panting. As my body came up, my head banged against a metal ceiling.

My eyes were still clouded from the dream so I couldn't quite make out what was around me. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and inspected my surroundings. I was in a room but not my room. This room had no windows and only one door but there was no handle on the inside. And, I wasn't in a bed. I was in a cage: a cage that was about two feet wide and four feet long. My heart constricted and my throat closed up. The bars of the cage seemed to press in around me, squeezing my in until I was going to pop.

_Find something else to focus on, _I ordered myself. I whipped my head from side to side, hoping to find something to distract me from the claustrophobic feeling that was spreading through my body.

My eyes found another cage slightly bigger than my own that was stuffed with five bodies. As my eyes looked through the cage, black eyes locked onto my brown ones. I pushed myself back to the very end of my cage. _A shark man, _I thought in terror. But, then, when I looked at the face the eyes belonged to, I saw it was a boy about my age. And, to my relief, the closer I looked the more I noticed a definite outline of his pupils. His eyes were just very dark. But, the beautiful boy that the eyes belong to did not look like a friendly person I could turn to. There was a line of anger that seemed to be permanently etched in-between his eyebrows and his mouth was set in frown, his lips a hard line.

I dropped my gaze and looked down at my hands instead. My stomach churned. My hands were covered in blood. Red and green blood. Flashbacks of what I thought had been a dream bombarded my vision. The intensity of my churning stomach increased. It wasn't a dream. It was all real. My parents were dead and I had been taken by the man in the suit. I had killed a man who had been somehow mixed with a shark. I had let my parents die. I could have done so much more.

My hands began to tremble. I brought my knees up to my chest and stuck my shaking hand behind my knee caps so I couldn't have to see them and the blood that stained them. I rested my head on my knees and started slowly rocking back and forth. _This isn't happening. This isn't happening. You're still dreaming. Wake up. Wake up! _

I knew it wasn't a dream. There was nothing I could do. I was trapped. Hot tears escaped from my eyes and ran into my mouth. They tasted of salt and the blood they carried off of my face. I was pulled from my pity party when the lights of the room were harshly flicked on. Bright, fluorescent lights attacked my vision.

"Wake up and prepare for tests!" A voice ordered angrily from over and intercom.

The four sleeping figures in the cage next door began to stir. The boy I had met eyes with earlier didn't move. Had he slept at all? From the dark circles under his eyes, it didn't look like he had. I immediately stopped rocking and wiped away my tears, smudging blood across my face. I didn't want people I didn't know to see me cry.

"Whoa! When did she come in?" A girl with unruly brown hair and chocolate skin exclaimed. "Hey, hey Fang, when did she get in?" She looked at the angry boy with the beautiful black eyes. He said nothing, but she seemed to find out exactly when I got in. "So, you got in around two this morning? Did you manage to sleep? It's about six in the morning right now. We wake up at six everyday. Gosh, you look awful. What happened to you? You look like you took a bath in blo-" the girl was abruptly cut off by another boy who looked about my age. His was really pale and his hand jumped out at me against the girl's dark skin. Shaggy strawberry-blonde hair covered his unfocused blue eyes.

"Don't mind her," he said, not looking at me. "She doesn't know when to shut up or when she's being rude."

I just stared at them blankly. I couldn't respond. I felt totally dead.

A small girl with bouncy blond curls crawled through the cage to the boy with the black eyes. She tugged on his shirt sleeve. "Fang, why is that girl all covered in blood?" she whispered. She sounded frightened. I hated that I was the cause of such a cute little girl's fear.

"Angel, shh, didn't you hear Iggy?" a boy with blond hair like the young girl's chastised. "It's rude to say that stuff out loud."

"Well, she's not answering. Can she understand us?" The young girl with the blond hair asked taking her hand off of the boy she'd called Fang's shirt.

"Honestly, I don't know why you guys get so curious about the new experiments. She's probably not gonna make it," the boy with unfocused eyes muttered.

"I…I can understand you," I crocked. Everyone looked at me in surprise. I have to admit, the sound of my own voice surprised me. My throat was dry and ripped raw from all the screaming I had done the night before. My voice didn't sound like my own.

"Squee!" the girl with the dark skin cried in excitement. "See! She can understand us! That's so great! There's finally an older girl I can talk to about girl stuff. Like, no offense Angel, but your fashion sense screams six-year old."

"May I point out that we all wear white hospital gowns and shorts? There is not such thing as 'fashion sense' in this place," the boy who had covered the girl's mouth earlier stated with exasperation.

"Whatever," the girl with the unruly hair sighed. "Anyway, I'm Nudge. What's your name?"

I didn't make a reply. I was finding it hard to swallow and focus on what was happening in front of me. My vision was switching between the scene before me and what had happened last night.

"Um…okay. Well, anyway, like I said, I'm Nudge. And, the sarcastic guy behind me is Iggy. He's blind by the way, so don't get offended if he never looks at you. Um, the cute girl with the blond hair is Angle and that's her brother over there, Gassman. A word to the wise, never stand behind him. Oh, and Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary over there is Fang. He's actually a total teddy bear once you get to know him." Fang glared at her when she called him a teddy bear. She giggled. "That's him trying to look scary."

_It works, _I thought. If looks could kill, that Nudge girl should be dead.

"So, what's your name?" She asked again.

This time I found my voice. "Max," I mumbled. I wasn't going to give them my real name. No one back home called me Odette. Only my mom called me Odette sometimes and it was usually when I was in trouble. My fighting instructor called me Max and my dad always called me Max. He avoided calling my Odette like the plague.

"Max, that's a cool name. What happened to land you here?" Nudged asked.

"Nudge!" Iggy hissed. "What did I say?"

"Oh, sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Nudge smiled. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," I whispered.

"Oh! So, you're right in between Iggy and Fang. Fang's about 19 we think and Iggy's about 17…we think. I'm about 14 give or take, Gazzy is 11-"

"Twelve!" Gazzy interjected.

"Sorry, twelve. He just had his made up birthday. And, Angel is about 6 or 7. But, like I said…we think. We aren't sure what our exact ages are. None of us remember life outside out cages. Except maybe Fang and Iggy. Ig?"

"Not really but I think Fang does," Iggy replied. They looked at Fang but he made no move to answer.

I didn't say anything or do anything. I didn't know what to do.

"Oh, they're coming," Nudge suddenly stated. "Fang, move out of the way." Fang didn't budge.

"Dude, let me go first this time. You always go first and I haven't gone in three days. You go every day," Iggy pleaded moving to the front of the cage.

Fang didn't move. He just sat there with his back against the door of the cage. As Iggy came forward, Fang put his hand out and put a restraining hand on Iggy's shoulder. Iggy sighed and flopped back on his butt.

The handless door popped open. Four shark men and three men in white lab coats walked in. I recoiled and pushed myself as far into the back of my cage as I could. They grinned at me as they walked in.

One of the men in the lab coats walked over to Nudge's cage and roughly unlocked the door. Fang's tall, muscles frame fell back and his shoulder were stuffed into the door.

"Alright, looks like this one is up," the scientist called over his shoulder.

All four sharks walked over to the cage and yanked Fang from the cage. When Fang straightened, I could see that he was almost as tall as the shark men, which was quite tall. He had to be at least 6'3". Fang made no effort to resist as the shark men and two out of the three scientists escorted him out of the room. Angel made a small whimpering noise. Where were they taking him? Would he be alright?

The remaining man in the lab coat closed the door behind Fang. "Everybody out," he instructed. One by one, Nudge, Iggy, Gassman, and Angel filed out of their cage. "Arms out," he barked. They all extended their arms and he took their measurements. "Tongues." They all opened their mouths and stuck out their tongues. He went by each of them and checked the mouth with a light. "Heart's next." He took out a stethoscope and checked their heart beats. "Okay, last one, wings." Then, to my surprise, wings sprouted from their backs and feathers filled the room. The man went around and checked their wingspan. "Alright, the end. Back in."

They all complacently went back into their cage and the scientist or doctor or whatever he was closed the cage back up and left the room. They had wings. Was the only I the only human in his place?

**Ok…that's it so far. Hope you liked it. Review? **

**Nightwings93**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok…next chapter :) hope you like it! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Two: Max POV:

"Where are they taking him?" I quietly asked Nudge after the man in the lab coat left.

Nudge frowned sadly. "They are taking him to be tested. Why does he always go first?"

"What do you mean by tested?" I whispered as my stomach knotted. This testing didn't sound good.

"Um…it's just not very fun. Let's put it that way. Hopefully, you have a few more days before your tests start. I mean, you still have to be _improved _on." Iggy said before Nudge could answer.

"Oh," I muttered my head spinning with questions. What did Iggy mean by "improved" on? Why do they seem so worried about these tests? What is this place anyway?

"Why don't you have wings?" A small voice asked. It was Angel.

I looked down at her. What could I say? I couldn't say that most normal people don't have wings. "Um…I don't know. But, your wings are really pretty." Angel beamed at me through the bars of her cage and settled back in Gassman's lap.

"What's the real world like?" Nudge asked me suddenly.

"Ah…well, I'm not sure. I was home-schooled and my house was in…in a forest." I stopped a moment to catch my breath. Talking about my life that I had been living happily just twenty-four hours ago made me feel like I had been punched in the gut. "My par… my parents they, um, had me enrolled in a fighting school. I went there four to five times a week and learned different fighting styles." I swallowed hard and pushed the oncoming river of tears back. "Now I think I know why," I whispered to myself. I stared blankly ahead, seeing visions of my father and me sparring in the back yard.

"Max?" Nudge asked, her voice concerned.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered. "Anyway, I never left my house except for when I went to take fighting lessons. I guess my life really wasn't that…normal, after-all."

"Oh, well, did you have a TV? Ever watch Project Runway? Sometimes the white coats, the scientists, bring in a TV and let us watch. I love Project Runway…" and just like that, Nudge launched into a speech about her favorite shows.

Her unending prattle filled the empty, bleach-white room. Everyone in the cage with Nudge seemed to relax at the sound of her voice. They sat back and listened to Nudge's words: words every normal teenage girl would say. In a way, she was talking more for them than for herself.

I'm not sure how long Nudge talked, but after a while her voice lulled me into a sense of security and I was able to relax as well. I sat against the bars of my cage; half listening to Nudge, half drudging up painful memories of my parents. If I think about them enough, the pain will become so unbearable that I'll just go numb. At least, that's the theory.

"…Yeah, so like I said, none of us really remember life outside the cage." Nudge's voice came floating back to the foreground of my mind. I started a little after being pulled out of my memories. I was totally lost. I had no idea how Nudge had gotten back on this topic from earlier this morning. "Except Iggy. He remembers some. He was the second to come. Fang has always been here. He was the first to come and then Iggy came when he was like ten. He-"

"I," Iggy interjected, covering Nudge's mouth with his hand, "just remember the day I was picked up. I was in a street dumpster diving. I think I was a homeless kid or something. But, I think the bastards here messed with my memory." Iggy frowned.

"Me too!" Nudge piped up. "I mean, I think they fiddled with my memories, too. I also only remember the day I was picked up. I was about ten as well and in an orphanage. I just remember then saying I was being adopted…then, this cage with Iggy and Fang. And, let me tell you, I was scared spitless. Fang was, like, 15 and super tall and with his black hair and scary glare. And Iggy was all creepy and blind."

"Thanks, Nudge," Iggy mumbled. "Blind doesn't mean deaf."

"Yeah, but when I came you had just gone blind, and you still those scary scars around your eyes."

"Oh well. At least I was saved from having to see your face, Nudge," Iggy joked.

Nudge huffed and smacked him in the arm but smiled. I couldn't help but let the corners of my mouth twitch up slightly.

"What about me and Gazzy?" Angle asked.

"Well," Nudge continued you as if she were reading Angel a cute children's book, "Gazzy came just a few weeks after me. He was about the same age you are now, Ange. Then, a few years ago, when you were about five, you were brought here, too." Nudge looked down for a moment after she finished. There was just a touch of sadness in her voice.

My heart squeezed. None of them know of a life outside of their cage and the horrible tests that Fang had been carted off to. I started. Those tests! What are they? How long had Fang been gone?

"Nudge," I began, leaning forward, "how long do these test usually last?"

Nudge looked at the door. "Fang never makes much noise so it's hard to hear when they are over. But, for us older kids, our bodies can only stand about two hours of testing. Of course, they always push the limits with Fang," Nudge muttered, her head cocked towards the door.

"Can you usually hear what happens when you guys are tested? " I asked.

"Only I can hear it," Nudge answered. "I can hear pretty much anything within a three mile radius. And Gazzy can mimic any sound he hears and Fang can- oh wait, here they come. I can hear their footsteps." I stared at Nudge stupidly. Super hearing and voice imitation? Really? Nudge furrowed her brow. "It sounds like they're dragging him. I think they took it too far again. Iggy, how long was he gone for this time?"

"Three hours," Iggy replied certainly.

"How do you know?" I demanded.

"Iggy has a perfect internal clock," Nudge replied.

"I got shortchanged on the cool powers," Iggy said as he shrugged.

The door was thrust open and Fang was tossed into the room. He landed face down. He didn't move for a moment; then, he slowly forced himself onto his side. The action seemed to exhaust him so he didn't move again. I looked down at his face and stifled a gasp. One of the scientists scurried around Fang's crumpled body and opened Nudge's cage door and my cage door.

"You two," he said pointing at Nudge and Iggy, "come with me."

Nudge tapped the back of Iggy's hand twice and they slowly crawled out of the cage and followed the scientists and sharks out. Nudge looked over her shoulder before leaving, doing a quick glance over Fang's body, assessing the damage.

"You'll have a few hours to stretch your legs outside of your cages," a scientist barked at us as he exited the room. "And you, new girl, get him cleaned up!" He tossed a paper bag into the room and it landed next to Fang's still body.

Gazzy crawled out of his cage and helped Angel out. They both walked over to Fang and crouched down next to him. Gazzy put a hand on Fang's shoulder while Angel buried her small head in the crook of Fang's neck. Fang's large bloodied hand came up and patted Angel gently on the head, leaving little smudges of blood on her white-blonde curls. Angel let out a small sigh and sat back on her knees.

"Come on, Ange," Gazzy said as he stood up. "Let's go to the bathroom."

Confused, I looked around the room until I saw a detailed I'd overlooked earlier. There was another door that blended into the wall at the back of the room. Gazzy led Angel to the door and opened it, revealing a room no bigger than a closet that had a toilet and sink jammed in it. Gazzy gently pushed Angel in and waited outside the door.

"Make sure you get a drink of water from the sink," he called in after Angel.

Slowly, I crept forward in my cage. I hesitated for a moment before crawling through my open cage door. I stood up and my cramped muscles screamed at me in protest. I ignored them and took another step. The room swam for a moment before I got my bearings. Steadying myself, I walked over to Fang. He was still again. I think petting Angel's head took the last of his energy. What kind of tests did they do?

Slowly, I knelt down next to Fang. His eyes were closed. I turned away: the blood covering his body making my stomach churn. I grabbed the paper bag and dumped out its contents. Rubbing alcohol, bandages, gauze, band-aids, and cotton swabs rolled onto the floor. I looked back over at Fang. His lip was split open there was a cut under his left eye, and worst of all, there was a rope burn around his neck. The burn was puffy and ripped open in places, spilling blood down Fang's chest. I had to sit him up so I could clean out his wounds.

I reached out to put a hand behind Fang's back to prop him up. My hand was still in mid-air when Fang's eyes snapped open and his hand flew up, grabbing my wrist. Our eyes locked. Fang was glaring at me. Anger flared in the pit of my stomach. _What is his problem? Why is he always glaring at me? _

"I'm going to clean your wounds," I said shaking my hand free. "So, sit up."

I felt bad talking harshly to him when he was so badly hurt. He must in so much pain and really tired. I took my hand back and went to grab the cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol as Fang struggled into sitting position. I looked down at the hand Fang had grabbed. It felt wet.

To my horror, my hand was covered in blood. Images of my dad's split open head and my mom's gaping stomach wound flashed across my eyes. I shook my head and turned back to Fang. I gave a small startled noise and shrank back a bit. Fang's image had been replaced with my dad's face, half of his head blown away.

_It's not real. _I thought to myself. _Calm down. _

I took three deep breathes, counted backwards from ten, and told myself to focus on the task at hand and what was really in front of me.

Fang came back into view. He was still glaring but there was something else about the way he was looking at me: a mix of curiosity and pity, maybe?

"Can…can I clean your face? Do you mind?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

Fang made no reply.

"Just go ahead, Max," Gazzy informed me as he walked over with Angel. "He won't be able to move much after the tests. He can't clean his own wounds. And don't worry, he says he doesn't mind."

My head snapped in Gazzy's direction. "What? How do you-"

"Just trust me, okay? He doesn't mind," Gassman reassured me.

"Okay," I mumbled as I got a cotton swab wet with alcohol.

Carefully, I brought my hand up to Fang's face. He didn't move but his eyes traced everything I did. I gently touched the cut under Fang's eyes expecting him to wince. He just blinked.

_Okay, Mr. Macho. _I thought bitterly to myself. _Why is he pissing me off so much? Is he doing it on purpose? _

I got Fang's lip fixed up next then moved on to his neck. It was a bit trickier to work with the circular cut.

"Why do you have rope burns?" I asked.

No one answered.

I looked over at Gazzy and noticed he had thin white scars around his neck. So did Angel. And, as I wiped the blood away, I noticed that Fang did too. I pursed my lips together in frustration but didn't push for more information.

"Any more cuts?" I asked putting the final touches on Fang's neck bandage.

His eyes flickered down to his wrists. Sure enough, there were more rope burns on his wrists and his ankles.

"Lord, love a duck," I muttered to myself. "What the hell goes on in here?"

Again, no one answered.

"Gassman, do you think you could get his ankles while I do the wrists?" I requested.

"Yeah, sure," Gazzy replied grabbing some cotton swabs and bandages.

Once we finished I looked back up at Fang, his glare getting less and less scary. "Anywhere else?"

Fang's head dipped down slightly, as if nodding.

"You're gonna have to be more specific. Wanna try using words?" I wasn't being mean really. I was just trying to figure out what's going on in this guy's head.

Fang gave me this look as if to say: _Nice try, lady. _

Instead, Fang painstakingly brought his arms up and shucked off his white hospital gown that was stained red. Thank God he had shorts on underneath the gown. Fang twisted slightly so I could see his side. There was a huge hole where his flesh should have been.

"The sharks bit him," Gazzy muttered. "Not graceful enough today?"

Fang shook his head slightly.

"Graceful? That's what that guy said…" I started then trailed off, distracted by the hard ropy muscles that seemed to cover Fang's body. _This is not the time to get distracted. _I chastised myself.

I quickly grabbed the alcohol bottle, my eyes snapping between Fang's body and the cotton swab I was failing to drench. I dabbed at the wound trying not to be too rough. Fang actually winced a few times. I finished and wrapped a bandage around his torso.

"We'll probably have to change it so it doesn't get infected," I advised. Fang inclined his head a fraction of an inch, a nod. I started to stand up to leave, but Fang reached out and grabbed my hand. My head snapped in his direction. "Yeah?"

Fang pulled my back down. I sat and looked at him expectantly. He extended my right arm. I looked down and my jaw dropped. My arm had deep bite marks in it and a crud stitching job done in a few places. I hadn't noticed it until now. Fang grabbed a fresh cotton swab and put some alcohol on it.

"This'll sting," a deep rumbling voice warned.

I looked up at Fang. "It talks," I whispered.

The corners of Fang's mouth twitched.

He gingerly swiped my arm with the cotton. I sucked in a breath. It stung. Fang quickly wrapped it then let my arm fall.

"It might scar," he muttered.

"That's fine," I answered. I was still a little stunned that he can actually talk.

"Fang, I'm cold," Angel whispered.

Fang held out one of his arms and Angel ran over and cuddled up to his side. Slowly, black feathers appeared from behind Fang. A large wing that almost touched the wall that was about 10 feet away came out of Fang's back. He flexed his wing for a moment then folded it around Angel's small body. Angel smiled and closed her eyes.

I smiled and started backing away so I could go use the bathroom; plus, I didn't want disrupt this adorable scene. But, in a way it made me sad. Fang was only nineteen. He should be out doing stupid things with friends, not taking care of five people and acting like their dad. I wanted to help him.

As I came back from the bathroom, the happy and quite scene was disrupted when the sharks and scientists burst back in the room, throwing Iggy and Nudge onto the floor.

"Okay, last two, lets go," the scientist ordered.

Gazzy and Angel started to get up.

"No!" I shouted. Without thinking, I ran across the room and placed my body in front of everyone. I looked over at Iggy and Nudge. They were in even worse shape than Fang had been. I couldn't let them do that to Gazzy and Angel. They were too young. "You can't take them."

The scientist smirked. "Oh really? Then I suppose you would like to go?" His voice purred at me from the door.

A shark strode forward and grabbed my neck, his face looming close to mine. "Come with us, fishy."

**Ok….there you have it, the second chapter. Sorry it took me a bit to get up. I had final exams this week D: **

**Review! **

**Nighwings93 **


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok… so on to chapter three… **

**Hope you like it :) **

**Nightiwngs93 **

Chapter Three: Max POV

I just to move back but the shark's hold on my neck was firm. "I…I…," I stammered. What could I say? I didn't want to get hurt that badly but I also didn't want Angel and Gazzy to get tortured by those tests. Which did I want more?

"Like I thought," the scientist muttered. "She's a coward."

"I am not!" I yelled. "Fine. I'll go next."

"They'll be nothing of the sort. You're not ready," a sickeningly sweet voice said from the door. I knew that voice.

My head snapped back. The movement was so swift that I was able the get free of the shark man's tight grasp. I looked around the shark and saw the man in the three piece business suit.

_**Turning my body away, but keeping the other two shark men in peripherals, I faced the man in the suit with my bloody knife raised. The man in the suit smirked. He raised his arms and started clapping. **_

"_**That was impressive. You killed on of my sharks and knocked out the other." He laughed then quickly sobered. He turned to my parents. "You did the right thing sending her to fighting school. She's also quite graceful. I like that." He faced me again. "Sadly, it's time for this fairy tale dream to end." **_

_**Then, quick as lightening before I could react, he spun and shot my dad in the head and my mom in the stomach. Their bodies jerked up with the forces of the bullets then they came crashing forward. Blood was everywhere. Everything was blood.**_

I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. Now was not the time to see those things. Now was the time for revenge.

"Move away form her," the man in the suit ordered the shark. Glaring at me, the shark man moved away. "So, Odette, we meet again."

"Shut up," I hissed. "You're never to call me that. I didn't give you permission."

"You don't have the right to give me permission since I'm the one who named you," he replied calmly.

"What? No. No you didn't name me. My mom named me that after my grandmother. That was my grandmother's name. There's no way you named me. I've never met you before until last night." My voice slowly rose until I was shouted. I could feel tears of indignation pricking at my eyes. I pushed them back. There's no way I'll ever let _him _see me cry.

He smirked. "Your parents lied to you a lot, didn't they?"

"Shut up."

"Looks like I'm the only one here who is ever going to tell you the truth. Really, I'm the only person you can really trust. What kind of parents lie to their child?"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about them!" I yelled.

"I know more than you think…Max, right? That's what you like to be called? After that horrible middle name your father gave you," the man in the suit commented, his voice disdainful.

"How do you-"

"Like I said, I know more than you think," he whispered, his voice sounding more menacing than sweet. "And, I think you want to know what it is I know." He leered at me.

"No, I don't want to hear anything you have to say!" I countered, backing away slightly.

Suddenly, someone was next to me. It was Fang. He gently pushed me behind him.

"Leave," he ordered. "Tests are done for the day."

"How dare you order me around!" the man in the suit snapped.

Fang glared at him meaningfully.

The man in the business suit flinched and put a hand up to his temple. "I see," he muttered. "We'll talk another time, Odette." He gave me one last lingering look before ushering the shark and the scientist away and slamming the door shut.

I looked up at Fang, my eye big. "Thanks," I mumbled.

Fang nodded in my direction and sat down against the wall. Angel reclaimed her spot at his side: Fang's wing coming around her once more to keep her warm. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to look. I could tell everyone's eyes were on me. I didn't want them to see me. I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to be around anyone.

"Excuse me," I whispered, and I dashed to the bathroom.

**Fang POV: **

We all watched as Max…or Odette… ran off to the bathroom. I inwardly sighed. It must be hard for her. Having _him _pick at you is not easy.

_**Angel, I need you to move so I can take care of Iggy's and Nudge's wounds. **_I thought to Angel.

"Okay," she complied moving onto Gazzy's open lap.

"Why didn't she let them take us?" Gazzy asked,

_**I don't know. **_I thought back as I started treating the rope burns around Nudge's neck.

"It's stings!" Nudge whined.

_**Sorry. **_

"Fang, you could try talking more," Nudge commented. "I know you don't like to but having your voice in my head all the time can be creepy. Lord knows what thoughts your looking at."

"You know I don't do that," I replied as I moved onto Iggy's rope burns.

"Yeah, I know but still," Nudge said as she tried to move into sitting position. She sucked in a deep breath as she arched her back. "God, I hate those tests," she whispered. "It must have really freaked Max out the first time you talked to her ion her head," Nudge laughed. "I'll never forget the first time you did it to me. I flipped out, remember?" I didn't respond but Nudge didn't seem to care. She had already launched into another monologue.

Truth is, I hadn't talked to Max yet because I couldn't. I couldn't hear her thoughts, even when I tried and I couldn't sense her consciousness. Even now, I knew she was in the bathroom, but the room felt totally blank like she wasn't in there.

I pushed my mind out in her direction and tried to force contact. I winced. It was like there was something there that was forcibly pushing me back.

_Tsk, tsk Fang! _His voice sounded in my ears. An image of his face and three piece business suit flashed across my mind where the contact with Max's brain should have been. _I told you not to touch her right? Trying to figure out stuff by diving through her memories? I told you not to get any ideas right? I won't let you have Odette. She's mine. _

The image faded and I was left with a blank connection. That bastard had implanted something that was blocking off any telepathic connection with Max. What did he want to hide so badly? I already know everything…there can't be more he's hiding, can there?

I finished Iggy's and Nudge's bandaging and helped them sit against the wall. I sat back down as well. I looked over at Gazzy. Angel was asleep in his lap. I breathed a very small sigh of relief. I love Angel and I don't mind taking care of her but sometimes she clings on to me too much. And, right now, I know her reasons for clinging and I can't say I like them.

"To answer your question," I muttered to Gazzy. "I think she's just a good persona and that's why she didn't want them to take you."

"That's what I think, too." Gazzy smiled at me. "What do you think they plan on doing to her?"

"Probably what they've done to us," Iggy answered. "But, do you think her body will be able to stand it? She's a lot older than we were when we were improved on."

I shrugged. For her sake, I hope that she can handle it. She is going to be in a lot of pain and very soon.

**Max POV: **

I looked at myself in the dirty, cracked bathroom mirror. It hadn't been that long since I last looked in a mirror, but my face was already altered. I was pale and my big eyes looked bigger than normal in my face. I had blood caked on pretty much every inch of my body and running through my hair. My normally wavy brown locks were lank and plastered to my face and neck. Basically, I looked like death.

I splashed water on my face and tasted salt as the blood ran of my head and into my mouth. I looked like a river of blood was running from my forehead down my neck. I looked away from the mirror the back and almost screamed.

It wasn't my face in the mirror anymore. It was my mother's. I always thought we looked alike. It was her dead face. Pale and soulless.

I clenched my eyes shut and count back from ten. _Not real. Not real. Not real. Notrealnotrealnotreal. _

I took a few deep breaths and went to open the bathroom door. Time to face them again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok so last chapter would have been longer but my parents were in a "RAWR get off the computer" mood. Lol. Anyway, finals are over (woot) and I passed all of them so I have a lag in homework. So…next chapter! Yay**

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Four: Max POV:

I walked out into the room and noticed the blood immediately. Fang's wound on his side had reopened and was bleeding through his bandage. His hospital gown was crumpled up next to him, already soaked in blood from before I cleaned his wounds. He must have reopened his wounds when he jumped up in front of me to get the sharks and that guy to leave.

"Fang!" I cried. His head snapped up. It looked like he had been dozing for a moment. He must be tired. "What the hell? Why did you move around with a wound like that!" I demanded pointing at his stomach as I hurried over to his side.

Nudge and Iggy slowly raised their heads from their resting places on their knees and looked over at Fang. They both looked really tired, some blood caked on their faces.

"Shark got you, huh?" Iggy asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Fang says not to worry about it Max. It doesn't hurt that bad," Nudge muttered. Then, she turned back to Fang. "Why don't you just talk to Max yourself?"

"What do you mean?" I said incredulously. "One: I don't care if it hurts; I'm more concerned about blood loss and two: he never said a word to you Nudge!"

"You mean you don't hear his voice in your head?" Nudge asked.

"What? Of course not. I mean, he does have a lovely deep voice but I don't go as far as imagining his responses in my head," I replied eyeing Fang to see if I could get his mouth to twitch into his invisible smile again. It worked. Fang's lips twitched slightly: his version of a smile.

"You mean Fang had never talked to you before?" Nudge wondered, my sarcastic remark going over her head. At least Iggy had sniggered a little.

"He's talked to me with his voice before," I answered.

"That's pretty rare," Nudge commented. "Fang, what's going on?"

"Wait," I cut in, "why would I hear his voice in my head?"

"Well, he's telepathic silly!" Nudge said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"See, he didn't get screwed over when it comes to cool powers," Iggy mumbled. "Internal clock," he said under his breath.

"Telepathic!" I almost fell over even though I was already sitting down. "He can read minds!" I do not, absolutely do not, want Fang in my head!

"Not yours," Fang suddenly said.

"Not mine?" I repeated slowly. "You can't read my mind?"

Fang nodded.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't in my head. He couldn't see my thoughts or memories. They were still private and my own. "Well," I started suddenly feeling brighter, "that makes a lot more sense now. Um…anyway, you should probably stop the bleeding."

"It'll stop pretty soon," Gazzy piped up. Angel was still asleep on his lap. I have no clue how she slept through that whole conversation. "We heal really fast."

"Yeah, but it's a shark bite," Iggy warned. "You know we can't from those as quickly."

"Already been disinfected. It's fine," Fang grumbled.

"Do you know how to speak in complete sentences?" I asked Fang.

"Yes," he muttered giving me a slight glare.

"One word answer responses do not count as full sentences, you know," I informed Fang. Something about him was really ticking me off. Was I not good enough to talk to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Macho?

"Fang doesn't really like to talk," Nudge whispered to me. "Don't take it personally."

"Can you read minds too?" I whispered back.

Nudge laughed. "No, it was just pretty clear what you were thinking."

I really have to work on controlling my facial expressions. "Oh," I muttered not sure what else to say. I wasn't really used to having to carry on conversations with kids my own age.

"Iggy, how long do we have until they'll be back to lock us up for the night?" Nudge asked.

"We have… 58 minutes and 36 seconds," Iggy replied.

"You could have just said an hour," Nudge said haughtily.

"Hey, I may have a crappy power but I'm gonna show it off to its full extent," Iggy sated.

"Whatever," Nudge muttered. "Anyway, Max can I stay in your cage with you? It'll be like a sleep over!"

"Um…sure," I said only it ended up sounding like a question.

"Cool! I think we should all take turns hanging out with Max so she can get to know us and so she won't feel so alone!" Nudge suggested getting really excited. I honestly don't know how she can be so energized after those tests.

"Uh, that's not necessary," I said quickly. It would so awkward if I ended up sharing the cage with Iggy or Fang.

"This isn't up for negotiation!" Nudge informed me. "We've all shared a cage together and we're all really close and since you're about to become one of us, you should get to know us better."

"Um…" I looked down.

"Awesome. I'm taking that as a 'yes.' Anyway, I need to go to the bathroom. Help me up?"

"Oh, yeah," I hopped up and helped pull Nudge up.

"Thanks," she muttered as she limped off to the bathroom.

I sat back down and look idly at the wall. No one was going to talk until Nudge returned. Fang doesn't talk, Iggy was too tired, Gazzy had fallen asleep along with Angel, and I was feeling too awkward to even think about striking up a conversation. The only thing I could think about was sharing a cage with Fang. That would be a disaster. We would probably end up killing each other.

Nudge came back from the bathroom looking a little more refreshed. With her sprightly attitude came more conversation and the next hour passed by quickly.

I was just starting to relax when Nudge's disposition changed completely. She sat up straight and her ears pricked up, almost like a cat.

"They're coming down the hall," she whispered.

Everyone got up and made their ways over to the cage. Angel and Gazzy went in first, followed by a gimpy Iggy and then finally Fang.

"Go ahead," I said to Nudge motioning for her to go ahead.

She smiled and crawled into the cage, her left like slightly swollen and moving slower than the other. I followed suit and then we waited. A few moments later a few shark men and some men in white lab coats walked in and closed the age doors thrusting a few pieces of hard crusty bread through the slats.

"You're lucky," Nudge commented. "You came on feeding day."

"Feeding day?" I repeated.

"We get fed about once a week," Iggy said as he chewed around his bread.

I watched as everyone devoured the bread that was clearly past expiration date. Everyone that is, except Fang. He had taken his piece of bread and split it between Gazzy and Angel. When was the last time that guy ate? For some reason I got even more irritated because now I was sympathizing with him. Why should I worry about a guy who acts tough, reads minds, and doesn't talk to me? He can obviously take care of himself so he doesn't need me worrying over him and I don't need to worry about him.

"I know it's not lights out yet, but I'm gonna call it a night," Iggy stated as he curled into a ball. "You know, this cage is a lot roomier without your huge butt in here, Nudge."

"Thanks Iggy but how would know if my butt is huge? You're blind!" Nudge snapped even though she was smiling.

Iggy just chuckled secretively and turned away.

"That's idiot. Fang, you gave him a mental picture of my butt, I'll have to kill you," Nudge told Fang in mock anger.

Fang held up his hands as if to say: _It wasn't me. _

"Don't act so innocent!" Nudge accused. "Whatever. Look, Max, I'm pretty tired too. We can talk a bunch tomorrow morning though!"

"Um…okay," I replied not sure what else to say. I didn't actually know what a sleep over was like since I had never had one before.

Nudge lay down and got into a semi ball like Iggy had. I looked over at the other cage. Everyone had already gone to bed except Fang.

"They're pretty worn out, huh?" I muttered.

Fang nodded.

"You don't sleep?"

He shook his head. "Can't relax here."

I nodded. "You got that right." I paused for a moment then shoved my bread through the bar into Fang's cage. "Here. I saw you give your bread to Angel and Gazzy."

Fang looked up at me his eyes widened about a fourth of an inch. He must be surprised.

"I had dinner last night before I went to bed. You didn't. I'm not hungry anyway. Go ahead and eat it," I mumbled drawing my knees up to my chest.

"Thanks," Fang whispered as he bit into the bread.

"Yeah. Don't mention it," I murmured.

"Guess it makes us even," Fang sated.

"I don't know. Getting the sharks to leave me alone is a whole hell of a lot nicer than me giving you some bread."

Fang shrugged.

We lapsed into silence but I felt comfortable with it. I didn't feel pressured to talk to Fang but I also didn't feel awkward not talking to him.

"Um…so I know I didn't get tested or anything but I'm pretty tired so I'm gonna get some shut eye. Uh…good night," I said as I lay down in an odd half circle.

"Everyone's first is taxing," Fang murmured.

I nodded and closed my eyes hoping that when I opened them again everything would be back to normal but for some reason, I knew I didn't want it to be a dream because then it would mean that Fang and Nudge and everyone else were all imaginary and I didn't want my set of first real friends to be fake.

Only a few short hours later, I was rudely awakened from nightmares of my parents' death by my cage being roughly shaken. My eye popped open just as I tumbled out of my cage onto the hard ground below. Nudge had been removed from my cage and tossed into her old cage with everyone else.

I felt hot sticky blood dripping down my temple. Putting a hand to my head, I looked up. A group of sharks, white coats, and the man in three piece business suit loomed over me.

"Doesn't she look beautiful when she bleeds?" The man in the suit said to no one in particular.

I tried to get up and run but the sharks grabbed me and strapped my down in a wheel chair.

"Let me go!" I yelled. I hate being tied down. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I felt my throat constrict as bile rose from the pit of my stomach. The room swam and little dots appeared in my vision. I was going to lose it. "Let me go!" I screamed again. I had to get out. I had to get out.

I looked over at everyone in their cage. They all looked at me with sad resignation. Well, all of them except Fang. He looked down right pissed. But, for the most part, they all seemed to accept the fate that was about to befall me. They were all utterly beaten. They'd been here too long to know anything else. Their fighting spirit was gone.

I could feel the bile rise and tears prick at my eyes. "Help," I mouthed to Fang.

Fang's eyes quickly looked away from mine, and I was wheeled out of the dark room and into the hallway.

**Ok…so I hope you liked it. Review? **

**Nightwings93 **


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok…so here we go… sorry for the delay. I would've had this up earlier but I got distracted by a really awesome anime I've been watching…haha. **

**Oh…someone said that Fang not being able to read Max's mind reminds them of **_**Twilight… **_**I was not intending to copy those books. The purposes for him not being able to read her mind are totally different and will serve in the plot later. So…yeah. Just thought I'd clear that up. Ok! Hope you like the next chapter! **

**Enjoy, **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Five: Fang POV:

Help, she said. How was I supposed to help? I'm stuck in a cage. I can't get out. I already feel helpless…she doesn't have to point out the fact that I am utterly useless. It doesn't matter how hard I bang my body against these bars, they won't break. I've tried.

There's no escape from this prison and there's nothing I can do for Max.

"Fang, do think they're gonna improve on her tonight?" Nudge asked suddenly, her voice sounding small.

I shrugged. "Probably."

"She didn't eat anything though," Gazzy pointed out. "I saw her give her bread to you, Fang. If she's weak because she hasn't eaten the surgery will be harder on her."

"I know," I muttered, regretting taking the bread form her.

"At least they use a sedative when they operate so she won't feel the pain until she wakes up," Nudge pointed out hopefully.

I didn't say anything. For Max's sake, I hope they use a sedative. They didn't put me under when they operated on me.

**Max POV: **

I could feel panic settle in my bones. The man in the business suit was behind me wheeling me down an endless hall that was nothing but white. It had no beginning and no end. I couldn't take it. I was going to lose it. I struggled against my bonds. I had to get out. Get out before I lose what little sense I have left.

"Now, now, don't struggle, Odette. I prefer my women to be gentle and submissive," the man in the business suit crooned from behind me.

"I don't give a shit what kind of women you like!" I hissed.

"But, you should. You should be very concerned with how to please me," he replied, something about his voice made my skin crawl. His voice sounded sweet but underneath there was a current of malice and something else: something that was on the border of madness.

"Burn in hell," I spat.

"Keep talking like that and you'll regret it," he purred like an angry cat getting ready to strike.

"I've got nothing to lose so do your worst," I said angrily. It was true though, I have nothing to lose.

"Don't tempt me, Odette. I would love to hear you scream," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear. I squirmed away. I didn't want him anywhere near me. "It hurts me when you shy away like that," he muttered as he played with a piece of my hair.

The panic that had settled in my bones started to rise in the form of bile from the pit of stomach. I couldn't shove his hand off. My hands were strapped down. I can't do anything. I'm completely useless.

I dropped my head and squeezed my eyes shut. _It'll all be over soon._ _It'll be over soon._ _He's not real. He's not behind you. Don't think. Don't think._

I could feel my body slowly shutting down. All of my senses were going numb. I didn't want to feel his touch so I wasn't going to. I lost all passage of time and managed to tune his ear-grating voice out which I'm sure pissed him off even more. Finally, the uneven motion of the wheelchair stopped and I was roused from my stupor.

I looked up and stifled a gasp. We were in an operating room. A cold metal table was placed in the middle with various machines and two doctors who looked like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One looked like a normal doctor and the other looked like some mad scientist. Emphasis on the mad.

"Sir," the normal doctor said to the man in the business suit as he wheeled me in closer to the operating table, "we have a slight problem."

"And what would that be, Dr. Johnson?" The man in the business suit asked.

"We only have enough anesthetic for the first half of the operation. We haven't had a lot of patients lately so we didn't order any extra sedative," Dr. Johnson replied shifting from foot to foot.

"Well, I suppose she'll only have the anesthetic for the first half of the operation, then," the man in the business suit answered, a smile playing on his lips. He turned to me and leaned in close, fiddling with my hair again as he spoke. "Looks like I'll get to hear you scream after all."

"I won't give you the satisfaction," I hissed, my skin crawling and the bile escaping from my stomach. I lurched forward and opened my mouth, the vomit streaming out onto the man's shoes. His very expensive shoes.

He leapt back in utter surprise. "You bitch!" He yelled. "These shoes cost me four hundred dollars!" He brought his hand down across my face, cutting my cheek with the ring he wore on his left ring finger.

I didn't move. I didn't cry. I didn't say anything. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. He will never see me cry. He will never hear me scream. I'm never going to give him the satisfaction. _Never._

"Well, aren't you tough?" he spat. "Right. Get her on the table. I want this operation done by dawn so she'll have twenty-four hours to rest before we start the tests."

"Sir," the normal looking doctor inclined his head and started to un-strap me from the wheelchair.

"I'll be listening from me office," the man in the business suit whispered in my ear as he walked out. "Don't disappoint me."

I looked straight ahead and pretended he wasn't there. I'm not giving in. He won't get the satisfaction.

The two sharks picked me up and started to carry me to the operating table. I struggled. I don't want wings. I don't want to become whatever it is they want me to become. The sharks held fast. My struggling made little impact anyway. They were ten times as strong as me.

They plopped me face down on the operating table and strapped my ankles and wrists down. I struggled out of principle. There was no way I could break the zip ties. The only result I got for struggling was bloody wrists and ankles. I stopped moving, my nose crushed against the cold metal of the operating table.

"You need to remain calm," the normal doctor crooned. "It'll all be over soon." He grabbed hold of my upper arm and stabbed in a large needle.

I tried to wrench free of his grasp but it was already too late. I could feel the anesthetic surging through my body. I was going to slip away. I fought to stay awake. I didn't want to b engulfed in the blackness that threatened to overwhelm me.

"Alright, let's get started!" the crazy doctor cried with a glint of malice in his eyes.

It was the last thing I saw.

Sharp pains pricked at my back.

It became more intense.

I woke up to a world smothered in pain. Everything was pain. Things were being stabbed into my back, blood was pooling around my face, and strange metal tubes were in my arms and legs.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to scream.

I needed to scream.

_Don't give him the satisfaction. _

My body trembled as I suppressed the overwhelming desire to shriek. The pain laced through my whole body, stemming from something sharp and twisting in my back. I shuddered and trembled and shook but I refused to scream. Hot tears streamed down my face. I kept my nose firmly pressed to the table so no one could see.

"Time to remove the tubes," the normal doctor, Dr. Johnson, said to the crazy looking one.

"Right you are," the other doctor muttered.

They each grabbed a tube and ripped it from my body. Pain exploded in my arms and legs and before I could stop myself a blood curdling scream tore itself free from my throat.

"I think she's awake," the crazy looking doctor muttered.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Dr. Johnson snapped. Stop the bleeding.

"You really know how to ruin my fun."

"My God, the poor girl's going to bleed to death. How the hell is that fun? You know that if she dies, _he'll _have out heads," Dr. Johnson hissed.

"Fine. Fine. Party pooper," the other doctor grumbled.

"Oh!" Dr. Johnson sighed. "Your maturity astounds me."

I tried to focus on their voices. On the way they bickered like an old married couple but found it impossible. My body was shaking and I could faintly hear pathetic whimpering sounds coming from my mouth. I wanted to stop but once again found it impossible.

"Pull the other ones before her body shuts down from all the pain," Dr. Johnson ordered.

They quickly pulled the other tubes from my body. The pain was even more excruciating this time than the last. Another scream sounded form my mouth.

_Shut up, shut up, shut up. He'll hear you! _

But I couldn't stop. The pain was too much not to cry out.

**Fang POV: **

"Well, what are they saying?" Iggy pressed as Nudge listened to what was going on in the operating room.

"They…they only have enough sedative for half the operation!" Nudge gasped.

"What!" Iggy and Gazzy shouted together.

"Are they going ahead with the operation, though?" Angel asked.

Nudge waited for a moment. "Yeah. That's what it sounds like."

I peeked over at Angel. She was guarding her mind carefully but I could have sworn I saw the smallest smile touch her lips.

"Fang…what should we do?" Nudge asked.

I looked over at her. "There's nothing we can do," I muttered. _All we can do is wait. _I thought at her.

"But I don't wanna wait!" Nudge whined. "We should help her somehow."

"Nudge, Fang's right. We're stuck in a cage. There's not much we can actually do for her," Iggy reasoned.

Tears welled up in Nudge's eyes. "It's not fair they're doing this to her."

"I know," Iggy muttered as Nudge rested her head on his chest. He put his arms around her and petted her head.

We waited for what seemed like hours. Everything was quite. Even Nudge didn't hear anything from the operating room except for the sparse conversations between the surgeons. Then, a scream echoed through the hall and found it's way into our small white room.

It was Max.

I slammed my fist into the bars of the cage. I knew there was nothing I could do, but I still wanted to somehow storm down the hall and rip those surgeon's throats out. And then go find _him _and make him do one of his own damn tests.

**Ok… so that's it for that chapter. Hope you liked it. **

**Review? **

**Nightwinsg93 **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okie dokie… so someone asked if they read wrong about Angel smiling… you did not read that wrong. Angel did indeed smile :) **

**Ok. Hope you like this chapter **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Six: Fang POV:

"They're coming back," Nudge muttered.

We all perked up and sat up a little straighter in our cage. The door opened: four sharks and two rookie white coats wheeled Max in. She was slumped in the chair, her body covered in blood much like the first night she was brought in. The sharks had to force her through the door because the new wings she had been given were sticking out awkwardly from her back.

Once the sharks had her wheeled in the room, they untied her wrists and ankles and let her flop on the ground. A scientist scurried in and unlocked our cage. He thrust a first aid kit in my hand. I locked eyes with the scientists for a moment. He shuddered and hurried back to the door. I couldn't help but smirk. All the scientists are freaked out by my mind powers.

"She needs food. Something to replenish her energy," Iggy called after the scientist. "She hasn't had anything to eat."

I looked over at the scientist; he didn't look like he was going to listen to Iggy so I forced my consciousness into his weak mind. I grabbed hold of the part of his brain that tells the body it's in pain and squeezed. The scientist writhed in pain and clutched at his temples.

"Fine! I'll find her something to eat!" he cried.

_**Don't forget to get everyone something to eat. We want to be fair now, don't we? **_I forced the thought into the scientist's mind.

"Okay, okay. Just get out of my head," he begged. I released his brain and left his mind. I smirked. "You'll pay for that in tomorrow's testing," he hissed.

I shrugged. I relish every moment I get to exact revenge.

The other scientist scowled at his partner. This scientist had a stronger mind. He would be harder to mess with. "You four," he started, pointing at Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gassman, "come with us. We'll do some group testing. You," he turned his attention to me, "clean her up and stay out of people's heads. There are consequences for that. We'll bring food in after we finish the group tests."

Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel exited our cage and followed the white coats and shark men out of the room. Nudge looked back one last time and frowned as she whispered something to Iggy.

_Fang, make sure she's okay, _Nudge thought at me.

_**Yeah. **_I thought back.

The smarter of the two white coats gave me one last scathing look. I just smirked back. I really don't care what they do to me. I have nothing to lose and I have ways to get revenge.

I was snatched form my moment of spurious conciliation when I heard Max groan. I looked down at her. She looked like she had been hit by a train. Keeping hold of the first aid kit, I walked over and knelt next to Max.

"Hey," I whispered. "You look like crap."

Max gave a pained smile and tried to sit up. It resorted in a coughing fit and little flecks of blood appeared on the white floor.

"Don't sit up," I ordered. "Lay on your stomach."

Max barely nodded and painstakingly rolled onto her belly. The surgeons had replaced Max's soiled tank top and shorts with a white hospital gown and a new pair of white shorts. Both were soaked with blood but had been tied on after the operation was done.

"I'm gonna untie the gown. Gotta see the wounds, kay?" I murmured.

Max nodded slightly.

I hesitated for a moment. I had done the same thing for Nudge when she had gotten her surgery and for Angel too. I've even had to untie Nudge's gown recently to clean out a shark bite she had gotten on back. So, this shouldn't be much different. But, for some reason, it's completely different.

I shook my head. I have no idea what I'm thinking.

Forcing myself not to think, I let go of the first aid kit and started to untie the back of Max's hospital gown.

**Max POV: **

My ears were burning and my cheeks felt hot. My whole body felt hot. My whole body was in pain and felt hot.

I could feel Fang's strong, large hands gently untying the strings on the back of my hospital gown. My heart was threatening to thump out of my chest. I've never been this close to a guy my age and I've definitely never shown this much skin around a boy my age. I felt completely embarrassed. Fang was seeing me weak and half naked. This is not the kind of impression I want to make.

"This'll sting," Fang cautioned quietly.

I closed my eyes and bit my lip. I moved my head downward an inch so Fang would know I was ready.

He didn't bother to put the rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab; he just poured the alcohol straight on my back. A stinging sensation exploded between my shoulder blades and my back arched in protest.

"Jesus," I hissed, biting my lip harder. The pain is never ending in this hell hole.

Fang quickly cleaned up all the cuts on my back and put down gauze and band aids. Then, he tied my hospital gown back up, his hands working more quickly and a little less gently than before. I breathed a sigh of relief. Words cannot express how happy I was to have clothes back on.

"Done," Fang professed moving away from me and sitting against the wall.

"Thanks," I croaked.

I tried to sit up again and found it a lot easier than the first time. My body was slowly numbing and mobility was returning to my limbs. Something about my body felt stronger than before but I couldn't put my finger on it. Once I was in sitting position, I got a massive head rush. I almost fell flat on my face but I didn't want to look like a D.I.D (damsel in distress) in front of Fang.

I regained composure and noticed another odd thing about my body. I felt ridiculously light. Like, the weight of my bones was no longer felt in my body. I looked down at my arms where the metal tubes had been. Not a single mark was there. The lightness of my body was oddly balanced by a new weight that rested uncomfortably between my shoulder blades. I craned my neck and looked behind me and my jaw dropped.

Wings.

I had wings.

I looked back at Fang, my eyes wide. He was looking back at me with a zero expression face.

"I've got…I've got wings," I breathed reaching out and stroking the crest of my right wing. I actually felt it. Whatever touched the wing, I felt. The wings were now a part of me.

I sucked in a deep breath.

The wings were white. Completely white except for the tips pf the feathers at the ends of my wings. They were black.

"Swan wings," Fang muttered as if he expected me to have gotten swan wings.

I snorted at the irony. "Leave it to that creep," I whispered to myself thinking of the man in the three piece business suit. I flexed my new wings a bit. It ached but I did it. I tried to pull them in. Pain shot up my spine. I stopped. "Not yet, I guess," I muttered.

"Takes time to get used to," Fang offered. "Might take a few days."

I nodded. "Honestly, do you ever use full sentences?"

"Why waste the breath?"

"You make a good point," I caved. As long as he gets his point across, who cares if it's in a full sentence? His reasoning makes sense. Shit. "So, what do we do now?" I had been too weak and out of it to try and stop Angel and Gazzy from getting tested. I hate that they are so young and have to be tested like that.

"Wait," Fang replied. "Not much we can do."

"Doesn't that bother you?" I demanded.

Fang nodded. "But if you resist they take it out on the little ones."

"So, in the long run it's better to just let them get tested?" I asked.

Fang nodded again.

"You've been here a while haven't you?"

Fang nodded.

"How long?" I pressed.

"Long time," Fang answered curtly.

I shut my mouth. He obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm gonna sleep a little, kay?" I told Fang as I slowly lay down on the cold tile floor.

Fang just nodded. He was starting to remind me of a bobble. Bobble heads really piss me off.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep quickly.

_**I peeked through the crack in the slightly ajar door. There were about four men with their backs facing the door. There was also another man in a three piece business suit talking to parents. He had a gun in his hand. Swallowing hard, I focused on the four men in front of the door and began formulating a plan of attack. As I though, I could hear snatches of what the man with the gun was saying. His voice was sickeningly sweet. **_

"_**You just had to be noble and run away. What, did you suddenly develop consciences?" The man was saying. **_

_**Taking a deep breath and counting backwards from ten to calm my jittery nerves and spiking adrenaline, I put my plan into action. I popped out from behind the plant and kicked the door in as hard as I could. As I expected, the door swung in and the door knob connected with the first man's tail bone. He gave a small whimper of pain and dropped to his knees. Not wasting a second, I snapped a side-kick to his head. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, making my movements stronger and quicker. Standing a little behind the first man's crumpled body; I turned to face my next opponent: fists raised, ready for the coming fight. **_

_**I froze and my fists dropped. The man with the gun laughed. **_

"_**You were expecting humans, right?" He chuckled. **_

_**I didn't pay attention to what he was saying. My eyes were locked with the large black, pupilless eyes of the beasts in before me. Their skin was so pale it was almost see through. Blue veins popped out like rivers on a map against their paper-white skin. Their noses were flat, more like slits. Like Voldemort from the Harry Potter films. Gills were etched into the sides of their necks and their long, sharp fingers were webbed. One of the creatures sneered, revealing five rows of sharp, jagged teeth. The smell of decaying flesh and blood seemed to waft from his open mouth. Instinctively, I took a step back. They were sharks. Sharks mixed with men. **_

"_**Odette, honey, run. Don't stay," my mother's voice sounded. It was broken and distant. **_

_**I tore my gaze from the shark men and looked at my parents. They were huddled together: their skin pulled tight across their faces and their eyes big. They looked so small. Like small frightened children who had just woken from a nightmare. Only, this nightmare was real. Very real. **_

_**I couldn't abandon them. **_

_**Setting my jaw and squaring my shoulders, I resumed my fighting stance. The shark men scoffed. **_

"_**Well, I really want to see how she handles this," the man in the suit snickered as he lowered his gun. **_

_**Using the six feet I had between me and the sharks, I got a running start and jumped high in the air. I snapped out my right leg and spun around in the air like I was doing a spin kick. Only, I missed on purpose. As my back faced the shark men in mid spin, I removed the knife I had fasted to my ankle. Then, the spin coming full circle, placed my body facing the sharks. I brought up my knife and as gravity took me down, the knife plunged into the shark man's chest. **_

_**The world froze. My feet hit the ground and everything stopped. My right arm, extended at eye-level, was splattered in green blood and held onto the knife which was securely lodged in the shark's heart. A spreading stain of green appeared on the shark man's white e-neck around the handle of the knife. **_

_**The shark man's eyes bulged. The blackness of his eyes seemed to leak from the sockets and pour into my soul. I couldn't take it. My eyes slid away from the shark's face and sought out the figures of my parents. They were clutches each others' hands and looking at me with eyes the size of dinner plates. I felt ashamed. I've never killed anything before. I hate killing. I think it's evil and wrong even I the one being killed is a hideous creature like this shark man. But, it was either the sharks' lives or my parents' lives. **_

_**The frozen world was suddenly thawed as the man in the suit twitched his arm. The arm that held the gun. I quickly pulled the knife from the shark man's body. Partially, so I could protect my parents but, also so I could get away from the dying body. I stumbled back slightly as the knife stubbornly loosened its grip on the shark's heart. Green blood bubbled and spurted from the deep wound the knife had left in its place. A line of green trickled out of the man's mouth and a strange gurgling noise sounded form his throat. He dropped to his knees and flopped over on his face.**_

_**Turning my body away, but keeping the other two shark men in peripherals, I faced the man in the suit with my bloody knife raised. The man in the suit smirked. He raised his arms and started clapping. **_

"_**That was impressive. You killed on of my sharks and knocked out the other." He laughed then quickly sobered. He turned to my parents. "You did the right thing sending her to fighting school. She's also quite graceful. I like that." He faced me again. "Sadly, it's time for this fairy tale dream to end." **_

_**Then, quick as lightening before I could react, he spun and shot my dad in the head and my mom in the stomach. Their bodies jerked up with the forces of the bullets then they came crashing forward. Blood was everywhere. Everything was blood. **_

"NO!" I screamed sitting bolt upright.

I looked around me, panting. I was in the room. The white room with the two cages. I was sitting in the middle of that room and there was a boy with beautiful eyes walking over to me.

I shook my head and rubbed at my eyes. I couldn't let Fang see me like this. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes and slowed my breathing to a normal rate.

Fang crouched in front of me. "You okay?"

I nodded.

"Nightmare?"

I nodded again.

A shadow passed across Fang's face. It was a strange mixture of sadness and anger. But, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

I rubbed my temples trying to get the images of my parents out of my head.

"Here," Fang said suddenly as he sat down next to me. I looked up at him in question and he motioned to his lap. "Your head," he instructed.

Hesitantly, I lay back down and rested my head on Fang's thigh. I could feel his body heat. He placed one of his hands on my head then stretched out his massive black wings and laid one of his wings on my body like a blanket. His wings were soft and warm.

"Thanks," I whispered as I closed my eyes.

Feeling safe and warm, I fell asleep instantly and for the first time since my parent's murder, I didn't see images of their dead bodies.

**Ok… hope you liked that chapter. A wee bit of FAX there at the end for you :) more Fax will come I promise! **

**Review? **

**Nightwings93 **


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok… so, I hope you guys liked that tiny bit of Faxness in the last chapter! **

**And, sorry it took me, like, a two weeks to update. I had a week you would not believe. I spent over 15 hours at school each day last week. Bleck! And then this week I had another singing competition to get ready for. But…all that stuff is over now so I can write! WOOT! **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Seven: Fang POV:

I sat absolutely still. I didn't want to move and wake up Max. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully for the first time in days. I can't really do anything for her nightmares because I can't enter her mind, but I can at least help her be comfortable while she sleeps.

Carefully, I brushed back a piece of Max's brown hair that was stuck in her mouth. I studied her face. There was an indentation under her high cheekbones. She's only been with us about three days, but she's already showing signs of starvation. Her body isn't adjusted to the flock's way of life. She won't make it if her body doesn't register the change the soon.

I looked at Max's white, blood-flecked wings that poked out from underneath my midnight black ones: the contrast was stunning. It was almost like Yin and Yang.

I was ripped from my thoughts when several sharks and a few white coats shoved Nudge, Gazzy, Iggy, and Angel back into our room along with a bag of old bread and moldy fruit.

"You have two hours until you go back in," one of the white coats said gruffly.

Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy sat down heavily on the ground as Angel walked slowly to the bathroom. They didn't look too bad, just tired. Luckily, they weren't bleeding much. Their skin was just raw and pink where the ropes had been tied.

"They just did basic testing today. They've been pushing it lately so they must be backing off a bit so our bodies have time to heal up," Iggy huffed as he grabbed the bag of food.

I nodded but secretly doubted they were really giving us a break out of kindness. It was more like they were trying to lull us into a false of security.

"How's Max?" Nudge asked.

I shrugged. "Okay," I muttered. I couldn't answer certainly because I couldn't get inside Max's head.

Angel came back from the bathroom and stood in front of me. I looked up at her waiting for her to say something.

She licked her lips. "I want to sit on your lap," she demanded.

I shook my head and gestured to Max.

Angel frowned. "She's a big girl… she doesn't need to sleep on someone's lap," Angel insisted an undercurrent of anger coloring her voice.

I shook my head again and locked eyes with Angel. I wasn't going to give in. _**Max has just had surgery. I don't care if she's a "big girl." She needs as much rest as she can get. **_I thought at Angel assertively.

_She's not even part of our flock. Why do you care? _Angel countered in her head keeping her eyes on mine.

_**That's a terrible thing to say. **_I mentally hissed. _**Everyone who comes into this room becomes part of the flock. How would you feel if Nudge had said these things about you when you first came here? **_

Angel glared at me for a moment longer then broke eye contact as she stalked away from me and sat down in Nudge's lap. Nudge looked between the two of us in confusion before shrugging and filling the silent room with her chatter.

I sighed and raked my finger through my unruly hair. I reached out for Angel's mind again only to find it blocked. I pulled back my consciousness. I couldn't figure out what was with her. She wasn't acting like her normal, sweet self.

**Max POV: **

"Max, hey Max, get up," someone whispered in my ear.

I burrowed my head deeper in my pillow. "Later, Dad. I still have a few minutes before I have to get up," I mumbled.

"Uhh," I heard someone say as my pillow shifted out from under my head.

"Pillows aren't supposed to move!" I whined as my head flopped onto the cold hard ground.

I heard chuckling around me.

"Apparently, she becomes a five year old when she's sleepy," I heard a voice snigger.

My eyes snapped open as I realized the voices I was hearing didn't belong to my parents. I looked up into three pairs of eyes filled with laughter, a dark pair of eyes that swirled with unidentifiable emotions, and a pair of pale blue eyes that seemed dead and angry at the same time.

I thrust myself into sitting position and winced as my body remembered how much pain it was in.

"You okay?" Nudge asked, the laughter leaving her eyes, as she touched my shoulder.

"Yep, I'm good," I lied.

Fang raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he doesn't need to read my mind to know when I'm lying.

"Got any food?" I asked suddenly as my stomach complained loudly. "I'm starving."

"Here," Iggy said handing my crusty bread and an apple that some mold on the top.

I grabbed it and stuffed the food in my mouth. I was so hungry I didn't care about the mold. It was probably a pitiful sight: a bloodied, skinny girl stuffing her face savagely with old food.

I looked around and noticed that a disgusted looking scientist was waiting in the corner of the room along with two sharks.

"Bet Med. School didn't prepare you for this," I rasped as the food barely slid down my dry, sticky throat.

The white looked down for a moment then motion to the sharks. The tow sharks strode purposefully across the room and opened the door of the bigger cage.

"Everybody in but those two," the scientist ordered pointing at Fang and me.

I looked up at Fang in question.

He looked away.

I looked over at Nudge.

"Sorry," she mouthed as she walked over to the cage. Her eyes were filled with sadness and guilt.

"Let's go," the scientist said to Fang and me. "Time to do some tests."

Fang helped me stand up and grabbed my hand. "Stick close," he whispered.

I nodded and moved a little closer to Fang.

The sharks stood on either side of us and the scientist led the way. I snuck a glance at Fang. His jaw was tense and a vein in his neck stood out slightly. He walked purposefully and looked straight ahead. I reassured going into the tests with Fang's hand in mine. Having him by my side made me feel less nervous.

Having him on my side was definitely a good thing.

Fang and I walked down the never-ending white hallway. It seemed to stretch on forever. I could hear the sounds of the white coat's and the sharks' shoes echo and bounce off the cold metal white walls.

My heart beat raced and I subconsciously squeezed Fang's hand. I was less nervous having Fang walk with me…but I was still plenty scared.

Fang looked down at me for a moment. His eyebrows were drawn together and his lips were turned down in a frown. My heart hitched and picked up its pace. If Fang was worried, maybe I should more afraid than I am right now. I could feel my eyes get a little wider. I probably looked like some little scared five year old.

Fang blinked and looked away for a moment and then looked back. Slowly, he smiled at me. A reassuring smile. I felt somewhat calmer and looked at the daunting hallway, ready to meet the tests head on.

Finally, we took a left and walked through a set of white door. I was starting to feel claustrophobia grip at the edges of my heart. Everything was white. It felt like the whiteness was closing in around me and was threatening to envelope me and crush me to death.

As we passed through the doors, the sharks dropped away from our sides and the scientist locked the door behind us. The two of us were left in a room that had walls made of nothing but mirrors. I spun in a slow circle and looked at every portion of my body from every angle.

My hair was limp and greasy. My eyes were too big for my face. My lips were dry and cracked. My cheekbones stuck out. I was covered in blood. And…and, I had white wings sticking out of my back.

I looked at Fang. "I've got wings," I muttered.

He nodded.

I had known that in the surgery they had given me wings, but I hadn't really seen what the wings look like on my body. I looked completely foreign to myself.

Something about my body was leaner. I looked more primal in a weird way. Part of me looked slightly more animal than human. They had done more than just give me wings when they operated.

Suddenly, one of the mirrors swung in and the man in the three piece business suit walked in looking smug.

"_**Well, I suppose she'll only have the anesthetic for the first half of the operation, then," the man in the business suit answered, a smile playing on his lips. He turned to me and leaned in close, fiddling with my hair again as he spoke. "Looks like I'll get to hear you scream after all." **_

"_**I'll be listening from me office," the man in the business suit whispered in my ear as he walked out. "Don't disappoint me." **_

I glared at him as the memory of what he said before my operation hit me.

"Don't look at me like that, Odette," he said his voice playfully annoyed. "But, I'm so glad you didn't disappoint me during your surgery. You have no idea how…satisfying…it was to hear you scream like that."

Fang made a noise that sounded something like a growl. I looked up at his face: his lips were pulled back from his face in an angry snarl, his nose looked sharp and it was slightly scrunched up, his eyes were hard, and his eyebrows were drawn together in the scariest glare I have ever seen. The vein in his neck was standing out again.

The man in the three piece suit chuckled. "Don't look at me like that…what is they call you now? Fang...that's right. I keep forgetting. The name does fit you very well, Nicholas. But, that animal look of yours," the man in the suit shuddered mockingly, "it isn't very becoming."

Fang made a move like he was going to lunge at the man in the suit.

"Oh, we can't have that," the man said calmly as he pressed a button on his wrist watch.

A hissing noise sounded from above us and what look like a net dropped from the ceiling. Fang nimbly jumped back and avoided being caught by the net. The thin, woven material listlessly fell onto the floor. The hissing and crackling noise continued. I looked down at the net. The sound was coming from it. It was an electrical net.

"You're getting quite good at dodging those, Nicholas," the man in the suit stated. "Well, enough chit-chat. Time to test."

The man in the suit turned on his heal and started to leave as sharks walked in from another door disguised as a mirror.

"Ari!" Fang shouted after the man in the business suit. "How long are you going to keep this up! You and I know both know it's impossible to fulfill his crazy dream!"

The man in the suit, the one Fang called Ari, just raised his hand as if he waving goodbye and walked through the mirror-door he had come in through.

"Time to dance, birdies," one of the sharks chuckled as roped fell from the ceiling.

There were ten ropes in sets of five that were close to each other.

"Are they going to hang us?" I asked as I tried to see where the ropes connected to the high, dark ceiling. I couldn't tell. The ropes just disappeared into the ceiling.

"Not exactly," Fang mumbled.

One of the sharks grabbed Fang and hauled him over to the first set of five ropes. I watched as the shark tied the ropes to Fang's neck, wrists, and ankles.

The other shark grabbed me and did the same. The rope around my neck was just tight enough that I was aware of the pressure but it wasn't quite tight enough to restrict my breathing.

I looked over at Fang. He looked calm and resigned. I probably looked like some wild beast that had just been caged for the first time in her life. My chest felt tight and sweat sprung from my forehead.

Then, music started to play. Classical music. I looked around wilding trying to find the source. There were no speakers in the room. No intercom. I couldn't find the source of the music.

I felt a tug on my arm. Light at first and then rough. The rope bit into my arm angrily. I gave a yelp of surprise and looked down. The rope that had been tied around my right wrist was starting to go taught and tug my arm up with it.

I looked over at Fang. One of his legs was raised behind his back and stretched out fully, while the foot of his other leg was up on tip toe. One of his arms was straight out while his other was arced above his head.

He was doing a ballet position.

Suddenly, I was reminded of what was going on with my own body when one of my legs was roughly pulled up backwards. I stumbled slightly then righted myself. My leg stretched farther and farther up.

"I can't go up anymore!" I screamed. It felt like my leg was going to be ripped from its socket.

The rope gave another sharp tug and pain shot through my body. Blood dripped down my leg and onto the white floor. The rope made me hold the position: my leg stretched back almost as high as my head. My leg was starting to lose feeling and tears threatened at the corners of my eyes.

I looked over at Fang. The ropes were making him do complex movements. He was leaping through the air and doing spins and other ballet steps that I didn't know what to call. He looked graceful and serene and free but restricted and angry and uncomfortable at the same time.

So, basically, all we are, are…puppets. Oversized puppets with wings.

**Ok…hope you liked it… I'm gonna go more in depth with the tests next chapter. **

**Review? **

**Nightwings93**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok! Yay….more story! I'm actually updating again at a regular pace!**

**Ok…so to the person who said this is kinda like Swan Lake… yes, I am loosely basing this off of Swan Lake because it is my favorite story/ballet of all time… (just so you guys know I'm trying to copy the movie Black Swan…I haven't seen it yet and I don't plan to). And anyway…I actually came up with this plot like four years ago. I just never got around to actually writing more than the first few chapters. **

**Alright! Then end to my babbling. Enjoy!**

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Eight: Max POV:

"You're not dancing fast enough!" A voice that was sickeningly sweet sounded from somewhere above me. It was the voice of the man in the business suit. The man named Ari.

"Bite me!" I shouted back, flipping him the bird. I couldn't see where he was, but I was sure he could see me.

I heard chuckling from above me. "You sure are feisty." Then, all humor gone from his voice, Ari said, "My patience is wearing thin. I told you I prefer submissive women."

"Shit," I heard Fang curse quietly.

The floor beneath my feet suddenly turned hot and angry, scalding the bottoms of my feet. I gave a cry of surprise and jumped in the air. All the ropes went taught and I was suspended in air, my legs splayed out like I was doing the splits in mid-air and my arms encircled above my head.

I looked down at the ground. Red lines crisscrossed the tile making heat emanate from the otherwise cold floor. Now would be a really good time to have shoes.

"Now, I suggest you dance fast and respond to the ropes so you don't get burned," Ari snapped from somewhere in space.

I looked over at Fang. He was already dancing again. His wings were half un-tucked and he was using his smaller feathers to make his landing on the ground softer and his time in the air slightly longer.

The ropes that were tied to my body went slack and I crashed to the ground. Every part of my body burned. I bit back a scream of pain and stood up. The ropes began to tug at my raw skin. I responded quickly this time. I was doing spins and jumps and weird ballet moves I had never even in my wildest dream thought I could do.

I could feel my muscles stretching angrily. My body wasn't used to moving like this. Every time a rope yanked at one of my body parts, my limbs were contorted in strange new ways, and my bones and muscles screamed in protest. My bones felt so much thinner and more fragile than they used to. I thought they were going to snap.

I was falling back to the floor after doing some sort of leapy-spinny thing. I had tried to use my wings to glide to the ground like Fang but my wings kept getting caught in the ropes and I still wasn't quite sure how to actually sue my wings. My feet banged onto the ground and my feet were so burned, I couldn't even feel the new burns that were forming on the soles of my feet.

The rope that was tied to my left leg wrenched my leg into the air at an unnatural angle. My leg was almost up to my head again like it had done a few times before, but this time was much more excruciating. I looked up at my ankle while both my arms were brought above my head and the ropes forced me to spin slowly in a circle on the one leg I had left on the ground. Blood was pouring down my calf and my leg was wobbling terribly. Everything from my thigh down to my foot was on fire.

I looked over at Fang. Sweat was dripping down his stony face and blood was caked on his wrists, ankles, and neck. There had to be some way out of this hell-hole.

Fang and I were shoved back into the small room that held our two cages. Both of us were exhausted and bloody. The lights in the room were off and everyone was asleep in the big cage.

A shark brushed past Fang and me and opened the door to the smaller cage. The cage I had previously occupied on my own. I looked up at the shark with a "_you've got to be shitting me_" expression.

The shark didn't seem to care. He roughly grabbed my arm and forced me into the cage. Fang glared at the shark. It was the kind of glare that makes little kids cry, old ladies cross themselves and pray, and the shark-men of this hell-hole think twice about messing with Fang.

Fang walked past the shark, staring him down the whole time, and climbed into the cage with me. I could feel my heart beat pick up it face and my stomach clenched. This cage was already small with just me in it. Fang's tall. He occupies a lot of space. My claustrophobia was most definitely going to kick in.

Fang brought his knees up to his chest and tried to make himself as small as possible so I would have enough room in the cage to lay down if I wanted to. I decided not to throw Fang's thoughtfulness in his face and lay down in a strange half circle at the back of the cage.

"So, that's what the tests are like," I whispered.

"That's just one part," Fang muttered.

My eyes widened. "There are different kinds of tests?"

Fang nodded.

"Do they all incorporate the ropes?" I demanded. I really think I'm going to develop a phobia of ropes just like I have a phobia of small places.

"For the most part," Fang answered, jamming his hands in his pockets. Blood had leaked from his wrist and had stained his large, strong hands.

I shuddered involuntarily. What other kind of hellish things will Ari have done to me here?

"You should sleep," Fang advised.

I nodded. "What about you?"

Fang didn't answer. He just looked over to the other cage and watched over the kids that were imprisoned there.

I sighed but closed my eyes. Fang was right. I did need to sleep.

_I was walking on a dirt road in the middle of the night. The stars were out and the moon was full but a heavy fog hindered its brightness. Dead looking trees were on either side of the road. Their branches curled down and seemed like they were the long, sharp arms of some savage animal that wanted to capture me. _

_For some reason, I wasn't afraid or worried. I wasn't lost. I knew exactly where I was going. The road forked and I took the path to the right without even hesitating. I knew where I was going. There was I reason I was here, I just couldn't remember why. _

_The path suddenly turned steep and was overgrown with weeds and tall grass. I could hear the soft bubbling of water in the distance. I was trying to get to the water, this I knew. _

_Finally, the water came into view. It was small lake. Two beautiful black swans were floating on the surface of the water. I watched them dance on the water together. They both looked so peaceful and happy. _

_Something about the swans seemed familiar. I wanted to call out to them but something stopped me. _

_The fog over the moon lifted and the pale silver light of the large ball in the sky shone on the lake. The swans gracefully swam through the reflection on the moon on the water. As they passed through the light of the moon, their forms began to change. Their bodies elongated and their wings thinned out into limbs. Soon, hovering just above the water, two human forms stood close together. _

_I recognized the taller form immediately, it was Fang. It took me a moment to realize who the other person was. It was me. Only, there was something a little off about the way I looked. My features were just ever so slightly wrong and my hair was just a smidge too pale and my eyes looked strangely dead. _

_I watched as Fang leaned forward and whispered something in the ear of the girl who stood before him. The girl that was me, supposedly. _

_Something in my heart constricted and it became hard to breathe. I somehow that what Fang had said to the girl he thought was me was slowly killing me. He was meant to whisper those words to me, not that girl that stood before him on the lake. Couldn't he see the way her hair was too pale and the way her features didn't match mine? _

_My knees gave way under me as if my bones were gone and my muscles had lost all their strength. My breath came out in short rasps and every portion of my body felt as though it was being stabbed by a needle. _

_I hunched over and clutched at my heart. It felt as though it was going to burst. I coughed and a large glob of blood landed in the water at the lake's edge. I looked into the lake. Dead eyes stared back at me. The dead eyes of my parents. They had been buried in the lake. Their cold, lifeless faces the only thing showing in the sand. I fell forward, my body crashing into the cold wetness. _

I sat bolt upright as I broke through the cold surface of the water in my dream. I could feel myself panting. I put a hand on my chest to try and somehow still my thudding heart.

I whipped my head around wildly in the dim light. I was back in the small room. I was in the cage. For some reason I felt relieved. I was inside. I wasn't outside. I wasn't anywhere near that lake.

Taking a few deep breaths, I forced myself to try and focus on something. I closed my eyes from a moment to stop the spinning, then opened them and look at what was really in front of me.

My eyes locked with a pair of dark, swirling ones.

Fang.

He cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," I muttered.

He didn't look convinced.

"What're those?" I asked pointing to the objects I could barely make out in the palm of his hand.

Fang's hand closed around the small pieces and they vanished from view. "Nothing," he murmured. "Bad dream?"

I nodded. "I guess," I replied feeling grateful that Fang couldn't read my mind.

Fang frowned. "Parents?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Sort of," I replied softly. I didn't want to tell him that he was in my dream, too. That would sound weird.

Fang nodded solemnly. He definitely understood.

I brought my knees up to my chest and shivered. My whole body ached and I actually felt like I had fallen into an ice cold lake.

I heard a noise and looked up. Fang had scooted closer to me and was extending his wing. A soft blanket of black feathers wrapped around my shoulders.

"You should really learn how to use your own wings," Fang muttered.

I smiled slightly. I knew he was teasing me and I could also tell he didn't really mind letting my use his wings as a blanket. "Rodger that," I said as my shaking subsided.

"Go back to sleep, Max," Fang ordered gently.

I nodded and closed my eyes. I was briefly aware of Fang reopening his hand and fiddling with the objects that hid there before I drifted back to sleep.

**Ok…so review? Hope you liked it **

**Nightwinsg93 **


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, so I had another crazy week! Junior year is killing me…literally. I think I just flunked my chem. test today…fun stuff. Chemistry is the bane of existence. Haha…oh well, at least there's writing.**

**Anyway, let's continue shall we?**

**Enjoy!**

**Nightwings93**

Chapter Nine: Fang POV:

I waited a few minutes to make sure that Max had fallen back asleep before reopening my hand and looking down at the smooth white teeth I held in my hand. They were all canines. Sharp fangs of numerous animals.

I had a snake fang, a lion fang, a crocodile fang, a tiger fang, and the fang of a wolf.

I arranged them in my hand and stared and them as if they could somehow bring me closer to my dad. Like, if I arranged them in the right patter, he would somehow jump from the shiny canines and talk to me one last time and maybe tell me how to stop Ari.

I snorted at my own ridiculous dream. It's absurd. My dad's dead. He's been dead for a long time. It's useless wishing for things that can never be. Yet, I find myself always wishing for three impossible things.

**Max POV: **

Nudge and I were roughly pushed through the doors to our small room. We had just finished another day of brutal testing.

It's my third week in this hellish place. My body was used to starving everyday, I could survive on very little water, and my muscles had slowly become more flexible so the dancing tests were about one eighteenth less painful than when I started.

Every part of my body felt different. There was something happening to me but I didn't want to tell anyone. The change had started with the surgery. Some part of me seemed to be leaking out of my body. It was like part of me was searching for something. Wanting a connection with something else that was void.

I kept quiet about the changes I felt and just tried to live one day at a time. It was the only way I could handle things.

"Max?" I small voice asked above my head.

I popped my eyes open, jerked out of my thoughts. I looked up to see Gazzy hovering over me with some gauze. I struggled into sitting position and looked around me briefly.

Iggy was helping Nudge clean the rope burns around her wrists, ankles, and necks. Fang was sitting against the wall monitoring everything while Angel slept soundly on his lap. Fang looked up at me as if he could sense my eyes watching him. We locked eyes for a moment before Angel stirred from her nap and occupied Fang's attention.

I looked back at Gazzy and gratefully took the gauze from him. "I can do it, thanks Gaz."

He nodded and went to sit by Fang and his sister.

I watched Angel intently while I wiped my wounds clean and applied some rubbing alcohol to stop infection. Angel was sitting on Fang's lap, holding onto the front of his shirt, smiling sweetly up at him. The way Fang was looking at her I could tell they were having a conversation in their minds. In some ways, I was jealous. What would it be like to hear Fang's deep, soft voice in my head and my head only?

I shook my head. I really shouldn't be thinking such weird things.

Sighing quietly, I finished dabbing some rubbing alcohol on my neck burn and lay down on my back, watching the white ceiling as if it would somehow change into something more interesting.

Oddly enough, it did. The door above my head burst open and the perfect white ceiling was interrupted by the ugly, pale faces of shark men. This wasn't type of interesting I had in mind.

"You," a shark man barked at Fang. "Come with us."

Fang nudged Angel off his lap and gave her one last warning look as he walked out of the room with the shark men.

Nudge gasped when the door clicked shut.

"What's up?" Iggy asked scooting closer to Nudge.

"I just heard one of the scientists say something about surgery," Nudge mumbled.

I bolted back into sitting position. "Surgery?" I cried. "Why would he need surgery?"

"His body has already been altered," Iggy muttered. "His bones were restructured…"

"Bones?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

Iggy looked in my general direction. "When they do surgery here, they do more than give you wings," Iggy began. "They hollow out your bones so your body will be light enough for flying. They add extra air sacs in your lungs so your breathing is more efficient."

I gaped at Iggy. So that was why my body felt weird and light after my surgery.

"Fang is the first one they ever operated on. He's the original model. They figured out all the changes they would have to make to our bodies through Fang," Iggy informed me. "He's always the one they do new surgeries on to see if it will help or hinder our bodies."

"Why do they even bother altering our bodies?" I demanded.

"If they just grafted wings on our bodies, we'd be too heavy to fly," Nudge replied.

"But what does our ability to fly have to do with those dancing tests?" I questioned.

"The wings…well, we don't really know," Nudge muttered. "But, what I do know is that they are trying to create some sort of super-human ballet troop."

"Come again?" I was totally lost. _Super-human ballet troop?_

Nudge nodded. "That's what Fang told us. I think he knows more but he won't say another word on the matter."

"Oh, okay," I mumbled. I was even more confused than when I first came to this place. What the hell is going on here?

"Can you hear anything?" Iggy asked.

Nudge shook her head. "You know Fang never makes a sound. Oh…wait…they are giving morphine to ease the pain but they don't have any anesthetic to give him so they can't put him under. Um…something about feathers. I don't really know what they mean, though." Nudge stopped talking and bit on her nail as she listened intently to the conversation that was going on in a cold operating room down the long white hall.

I shuddered thinking of the time when I was taken away to have surgery. Pain flared in my back at the memory.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.

_**This sucks.**_

I heard a voice that wasn't mine whisper in my head. I popped my eyes open and looked around wildly. Iggy and Nudge were quietly talking to one another while Gazzy and Angel played a hand clapping game.

Maybe I'm finally starting to lose it.

_**What are they doing to my wings?**_

I heard the voice whisper again. It sounded faint and sleepy but slightly afraid and almost…bored? as if they had gone through this a lot and just wanted it to end.

Not opening my eyes this time, I just focused on listening to the faint voice I was hearing. Crazy, I know.

But, for some reason, I felt more at ease when I could hear this strange voice in my head. It felt like that connection that my body was searching for had been found and I was complete again. Like, the part of me that leaked out had attached itself to something and in turn, part of whatever I was now attached to, was now attached to me.

I felt a sharp pain in my wings. It felt as if someone was ripping the feathers at the bottom of wings out. I looked down at my wings. They were fine. Somehow, I knew that the pain I was feeling was not my own but the pain of the thing I was newly attached to.

I started to see a picture in my mind. I picture of who I was attached to. I shoved it away. I was having such ridiculous thoughts lately.

The door banged open again.

We all looked hopefully at the door. Fang wasn't back. Of course not. He hadn't been gone that long.

"You," A scientist snapped pointing at me. "Come with us."

"She already got tested today!" Nudge shouted in protest.

"Yeah, you can't take her!" Iggy exclaimed. He moved to get up.

"Don't worry about it guys," I said standing up. "I don't mind."

It was the truth. Maybe if these tests kill me, I can finally rest and be with my parents again.

I followed the scientist and the three sharks he had brought with him down the long hallway. We went into the dance room with all the mirrors.

It was true I didn't mind being put through more tests, but I had hoped I wouldn't have to dance again. I stopped in the middle of the dance floor and waited for the ropes to drop down.

"Don't stop," the scientist growled angrily. "This way."

Cautiously, I followed the scientist towards the mirrors. He placed a hand on the last mirror in the wall. It slid back. The scientist disappeared into the room behind the mirror. I froze. I didn't want to go in there. I was getting comfortable with the dancing tests…as comfortable as I could get. I didn't want a whole new set of horrors unleashed on me.

One of the sharks behind me pushed me through the doorway. "Get in there, birdie," the shark hissed.

I stumbled into the room and gaped. I was in a costume room. It was stuffed with ballet tutus, leggings, ballet shoes, and a whole horde of other costumes along with sewing machines and mannequins.

"Let's fit you into a costume," an oily voice said.

My head snapped away from the beautiful clothing and I looked in the direction of the voice.

"Ari," I greeted, my voice dripping with venom.

"That's no way to welcome me after not seeing me for a few days. Didn't you miss me?" Ari asked, pouting slightly.

"Oh, yes, I don't know how I managed to survive without you for those few days that we were apart," I replied, sarcasm coating my voice.

Ari scowled at me. "You know, if you keep giving me lip, I'll have your mouth sewn shut."

I glared at Ari but didn't say another word. I wouldn't put it past him to sew my mouth shut.

Ari smirked and clapped his hands. An old woman walked out from behind a rack of costumes. She had frizzy white hair, a measuring tape, and a pin-cushion wrist band with a few pins sticking out of the tomato shaped cushion.

"See if she fits the costumes," Ari commanded.

"Of course, sir," the old woman replied bobbing her head.

She grabbed an exquisite white costume that was beaded and had a large white fluffy tutu. She walked over to me and held the dress up against my back. She made a displeased noise.

"I don't think it'll fit, sir," she muttered.

"Nonsense," Ari hissed.

"Her rib cage is slightly broader," the woman said.

"Well, make it fit," Ari snapped.

"Shall I let out the costume I bit then, sir," the old tailor asked.

"What? No! That's ridiculous!" Ari shouted angrily. "Make her fit the costume! She has to fit the costume. She has to."

Ari spun on his heal and marched out of the costume room.

The old woman sighed and shook her head. "Sorry about this, honey," the old woman sighed. "Ari is very particular about some things. He wants you to fit in the exact costume _she _wore when she was dancing the part of Odette." The old woman shook her head. "Turn around please and take off your nightgown."

Turning slowly so my back was facing the seamstress, I took off my nightgown. I looked back at the old woman. She had taken out a giant needle, some metal rings, and purple ribbon.

"Sorry, love, this is going to hurt," the old lady muttered.

The old lady grabbed the base of my neck and jabbed the oversized needle into the base of my back.

**Ok…so I've been writing this chapter since last Friday. Seriously. I'm sorry it took me so long to get it out. I just haven't had time to publish it! Sorry!**

**Nightiwngs93 **


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok….so I have a snow day today! WOOT! I should be doing my annotated bibliography for my English class…but I feel like writing…so! And, I kinda feel bad for leaving you guys in suspense. **

**So, let's keep going :) **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Ten: Max POV:

My breath caught in my throat and my legs buckled. I landed hard on my knees as the pain spread through my back.

"What the hell are you doing!" I shouted as I clutched at my back.

The old lady gently knocked my hands away. "I don't want to be doing this. I really don't," she said, he voice sounding pained. "But, I have to do this…or Ari will…"

I held up my hand to stop the old woman from speaking. "Fine. Make it quick." I couldn't let this old lady get hurt because of me.

I bit my bottom lip until I tasted blood. I could feel the old lady making stitches in my skin and I could feel the cold metal rings she had brush up against my back. There was uncomfortable pulling and it felt like the metal rings were being embedded in my skin.

"Ok, almost done," the seamstress muttered.

I nodded and sucked in a deep breath as I felt the ribbon slide across my skin. I closed my eyes and tensed up as the lady pulled the ribbon. The sides of my torso exploded in pain. It felt as though my skin was being pulled back. Almost like a corset.

"What are you doing?" I whimpered.

"We have to make you smaller so you fit in the clothes," the seamstress muttered.

She yanked on the string again and rib cage squeezed tighter together. I sucked in another breath. It was getting harder to breathe.

"I can't breathe," I choked.

"You'll get used to it," the old woman said. She gave a final tug and my rib cage felt like it was going to collapse it was being squished so badly. "There," she said, stepping back. "Take a look." She pointed to a three-way mirror.

Standing slowly, I painstakingly walked over to the three sided mirror. I gasped. The old seamstress had sewed a corset into my back. Metal rings were sewn into my back in curving lines on the inside of my shoulder blades just next to my wings and down to the base of my back. Purple ribbon was laced tightly through each ring.

I whirled around and looked at her. "Why did you do this! Why couldn't you just make me a corset!"

"Oh, darling, that would restrict your dancing too much," she replied. "I have to do what Ari tells me to do."

I looked down at the ground so he seamstress wouldn't see my tears. My body was no longer my own. I was being altered too much. I focused on the old lady's feet to try and calm myself down. I gave a slight start when I noticed the shackle that was around her ankle.

"Are you a prisoner here?" I asked not looking up.

"Who could be a prisoner when she's in a room surrounded by what she loves?" The old woman replied. Her voice sounded sad.

"I…I'll find a way to get you out," I promised. How could Ari imprison an old woman? "I'll find a way to get everyone out."

The old lady laughed. "You sound just like Nicholas when he was little."

Nicholas? "You mean Fang?" I asked.

The lady nodded. "So, that's what they call him now. He never talks to me anymore when he comes for a fitting. He used to be such a bright child."

I started to ask the lady about Fang when a scientist and a couple of sharks burst into the room. I spun away from them and quickly put the nightgown on over my newly corseted back.

"Enough reminiscing," the scientist snapped. "It's time for her to go back."

I hesitated. I liked this old lady, even though she screwed my back up. For the first time in a long time, I felt comfortable and safe around this woman. I didn't want to go back in the small white room with the small, cramped cages.

"Let's go birdie!" one of the shark men yelled as he grabbed my shoulder.

I twisted out of his grasp. "I walk myself," I said haughtily and exited the costume room. I threw back one last glance to look at the old lady but she was already gone.

*****8*****8*****8*****8*****8*****

I walked back into the small white room. Everyone was being herded back into their cage. Including Fang. Fang was back from surgery. A shark was shoving him into my cage. We were going to have to share a cage again.

"Get in," the shark hissed.

"Well, no shit Sherlock," I quipped.

The shark glared at me punched me in the back. I let out a small cry of pain: the new piercings in my back yelling out in intense agony. The shark smirked at me as I slinked by him and into my cage.

I sat down next to Fang and brought my knees up to my chest, rounding my back. The metal rings pulled at my skin so I sat up straight which resulted in me banging my head on the ceiling of the cage. I winced. I just couldn't comfortable.

I looked over at Fang. He was already watching me intently. Something in me buzzed. The part of me that had found a connection with something seemed to be stronger.

"What did they do to you?" I whispered.

Fang sat completely still for a moment then extended his wings slightly so I could see them. My jaw dropped. The whole bottom row of Fang's beautiful black feathers had been replaced with white ones. Fang's feathers now looked just like mine only in reverse.

"Oh," I mumbled. "I'm sorry it hurt."

Fang looked surprised for a moment. And by surprised I mean his eyes widened about one third of an inch. "I never said it hurt."

"Oh…um…I just assumed…" I trailed off. I remembered feeling a pain in my wings earlier that day. A pain that wasn't mine. An intense pain that would hurt even someone as tough as Fang.

Fang eyed my carefully. He seemed suspicious. I looked away for a few moments, trying to clear my head. When I looked back, Fang's expression was blank again. "What about you?" He asked.

"I went in for a fitting," I replied, my back burning at the mention of the costume room.

A shadow briefly passed over Fang's face. "Go well?"

I shook my head. "My rib cage was too big."

I felt a wave apprehension and slight nausea come over me…only, it wasn't my own feelings. They were the feelings of the person I was newly connected to. And I was beginning to believe the person was Fang.

"Did they…" Fang's voice trailed off but I already knew what he was talking about.

I nodded, turned around, and slightly lifted the nightgown so Fang could see the corset that was now part of my body.

I felt anger flare up from the connection.

"You don't have to be mad on my behalf," I muttered.

I turned and looked at Fang. Once again, he seemed surprised. He looked like he was about to say something when Angel reached through the bars of the two cages and tapped Fang on the shoulder. Fang turned and looked at her. I could tell they were conversing telepathically again. Angel looked over at me with a smug expression. It was almost as if she was taunting me.

I put the nightgown down and looked away. Maybe the connection was all in my head.

_Snap out of it Max! _I ordered myself. _You've barely known these people a month. It's not like you guys are going to be bosom buddies right away._

I shook my head to clear. That's right. I was being absurd. There's no point in feeling jealous.

Curling up into as small a ball as possible, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. After getting a corset sewn into my back, I was fairly tired.

_I was walking on a dirt road in the middle of the night. The stars were out and the moon was full but a heavy fog hindered its brightness. Dead looking trees were on either side of the road. Their branches curled down and seemed like they were the long, sharp arms of some savage animal that wanted to capture me. _

_For some reason, I wasn't afraid or worried. I wasn't lost. I knew exactly where I was going. The road forked and I took the path to the right without even hesitating. I knew where I was going. There was I reason I was here, I just couldn't remember why. _

_The path suddenly turned steep and was overgrown with weeds and tall grass. I could hear the soft bubbling of water in the distance. I was trying to get to the water, this I knew. _

_Finally, the water came into view. It was small lake. Two beautiful black swans were floating on the surface of the water. I watched them dance on the water together. They both looked so peaceful and happy. _

_Something about the swans seemed familiar. I wanted to call out to them but something stopped me. _

_The fog over the moon lifted and the pale silver light of the large ball in the sky shone on the lake. The swans gracefully swam through the reflection on the moon on the water. As they passed through the light of the moon, their forms began to change. Their bodies elongated and their wings thinned out into limbs. Soon, hovering just above the water, two human forms stood close together. _

_I recognized the taller form immediately, it was Fang. It took me a moment to realize who the other person was. It was me. Only, there was something a little off about the way I looked. My features were just ever so slightly wrong and my hair was just a smidge too pale and my eyes looked strangely dead. _

_I watched as Fang leaned forward and whispered something in the ear of the girl who stood before him. The girl that was me, supposedly. _

_Something in my heart constricted and it became hard to breathe. I somehow that what Fang had said to the girl he thought was me was slowly killing me. He was meant to whisper those words to me, not that girl that stood before him on the lake. Couldn't he see the way her hair was too pale and the way her features didn't match mine? _

_My knees gave way under me as if my bones were gone and my muscles had lost all their strength. My breath came out in short rasps and every portion of my body felt as though it was being stabbed by a needle. _

_I hunched over and clutched at my heart. It felt as though it was going to burst. I coughed and a large glob of blood landed in the water at the lake's edge. I looked into the lake. Dead eyes stared back at me. The dead eyes of my parents. They had been buried- _

There was a loud banging noise, pulling me from my reoccurring nightmare. I jolted awake and looked around.

Fang had banged both fists against the bars of our cage. "God dammit, Angel!" Fang yelled. "Stop saying those things!"

By now, everyone was up and we were all looking between Angel and Fang. I didn't know what to do. I was in a state of shock. I didn't think it was possible for Fang to yell, let alone yell at Angel.

Tears streaked down Angel's face. "Why not? Huh! Why not! You know I'm right! You know it!" Angel shrieked angrily. "It's disgusting watching you go nuts over her! I see the way you look at her!" Angel gestured over to me but I couldn't react. "It's sickening! You're just trying to replace what you lost with _her! _And she's just…she's just…!" Angel let out a frustrated scream and burst into tears again. She put her head in her hands and her small body wracked with sobs.

Now, everybody was looking at me. Except for Fang. His was looking at the floor of our cage and his hands were gripping the bars so tightly that his knuckles were white.

I stared back at everyone. I had no idea what to say. I didn't even know what Fang was mad and Angel and didn't know why Angel seemed to hate me so much. I had no clue what to do and I couldn't run away. I was stuck in this cage and I had to come up with something to say.

I inched forward and pressed my face to the bars of the cage and looked down at Angel.

"Angel," I said softly. What could I say? "I'm sorry. But, I'm not sure what you want me to do. What can I do to make it better?"

Angel lifted her head and glared at me. Man, if looks could kill. "Go die!" Angel screamed.

**Mmkay…there's that chapter. If you guys wanna know what Max's back looks like, just go to Google and type in "corset piercing". It's kinda messed up…but, yeah **

**Review? **

**Nightwings93 **


	12. Chapter 12

**So…yeah, Angel is kinda a bitch. But you'll find out why later. **

**Some of you guys have been making guesses as to who the /she/ is that was referred to by the seamstress and some of you have made guesses as to whom Fang is replacing with Max… you guys are pretty close. Some more so than others. You'll find out soonish though…well…yeah soonish. **

**Enjoy!**

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Eleven: Max POV:

I just stared at Angel. My face showing an absolutely zero expression. I had nothing to say to Angel. I had way to respond so I just looked at her.

It's not like I hadn't thought about dieing. It's not like I haven't questioned my existence and thought that I'd be better off dead than alive. I wouldn't mind dieing. I'd get to rest. I'd get to sleep comfortably. I'd get the chance to, maybe, see my parents again.

I just stared at Angel.

Everyone was completely quiet. Their eyes were wide and they were looking between me, Angel, and Fang.

I looked at Angel, feeling nothing. Thinking nothing. Having nothing to say.

It seemed to piss her off more. Or scare her. I couldn't tell. She looked back at me, her eyes set in a harsh glare, and her body shook.

"Say something!" Angel snapped.

"Maybe I should," I whispered. "It's not like I'm doing anyone a service by living."

Angel's eyes went wide. I was even a little surprised by my dark response.

"Max-" Nudge started but what cut off by a look from Angel.

"Would it make you happier if I died?" I asked, not really registering any emotions. Just a hollow buzzing feeling in the pit of my stomach and a strange nauseated feeling coming from the person I was connected to.

Angel snorted, new tears forming in her eyes. She was trying to hold it in, but I could tell she was so pissed that she was going to explode again. "Don't try and act so perfect," she spat. "As if you care what will make me happier. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You weaseled your way in here, pretending to be friends with us."

I was a little taken aback by her words.

"Angel," Fang muttered. "That's enough."

"No! It isn't! She's going to screw everything up just like he said she would. He told me she'd mess everything up!" Angel snapped her head in Fang's direction and glared at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. "And you! Don't try and act you've done nothing. He told me what you did to us. I know what you did! And, I know what you're gonna do. You're going to abandon us all for her! He said you would and I can see now that he was right!" Angel burst into another fit of tears.

I just stared at her. I had no clue what was going on. I was too confused to care in a way. I felt bad for Angel…but, I felt this weird hole that was stopping me from caring too much.

"Ok, that's enough," I heard Iggy mutter. He grabbed Angel and swung her away from the side of the cage that was facing me and Fang.

Iggy plopped Angel in Gazzy's lap and the two of them tried to calm her down.

Nudge looked at me remorsefully. "Don't take it too personally, Max," She mumbled. "About a month before you came, Angel was taken from the cage and went missing for about 5 days. She came back…different. Don't hold it against her."

I nodded. "It's fine," I replied, still feeling empty.

I looked over at Fang. His head was resting against the bars of our cage, his hands limp by his sides. I felt a wave of tiredness from the invisible person I was connected to, the person I am now almost one hundred percent certain is Fang.

I wanted to reach out to Fang and see if he was alright, but something stopped me. Angel's words had stirred up a thought that had been resting in the back of my mind since my parents died.

_Why bother caring about people when all they do is die on you._

It's true that I have some to care for the people in the cages. These kids who now share my same fate…but, with the tests that we take and the way our bodies have been altered, it's only a matter of time before we start dying. Why should I care about them and get my heart broken every time I watch one of them die?

Maybe this is what Angle meant by saying I'd mess everything up.

Maybe Angel was right in saying that I don't care what would make her happier.

Maybe I am a terrible person who cares about nothing but her own preservation and happiness.

Maybe Angle was right. Should I just die? What favor am I doing anyone by being alive?

*****8*****8*****8*****8*****8*****

It had been about two weeks since my confrontation with Angel.

A lot had changed.

I had begun to distance myself from everyone else. Angel never sat on Fang's lap anymore.

Gazzy and Angel were always huddled together, while Iggy and Nudge stuck close.

Both Fang and I seemed to be isolated from everyone else. Even the strange connection I had felt with Fang seemed to be disappearing.

At least, the connection I assumed to be with Fang. He didn't seem to notice the connection, but I was still picking up tiny hints of his emotions. Although they were growing fainter everyday.

As if to exacerbate the rift that had formed between all of us, everyone now did their tests alone. We were always taken individually to the dancing tests and costume fittings.

Today seemed to be like any other. Fang and I were at opposite ends of our cage and the other cage had people in similar positions. Angle was in Gazzy's lap in the back of their cage while Iggy and Nudge sat close together at the front.

Two scientist and three sharks walked in. I inwardly groaned. Lately, I've been the first person they've been taking for testing.

The scientist opened the door to my cage and I begrudgingly got out.

"You too," I heard the scientist say to Fang.

I turned around. Fang looked slightly surprised but got out of the cage obediently. I eyed the scientists suspiciously. What were they planning?

Fang and I walked to the dancing room. I had the memorized by now and the white walls were a little less scary and a little less phobia inducing than before.

When the ropes in the room dropped, I noticed Fang and I were closer than the last time we had tested together. The music started and the ropes swung me and Fang into each other.

Startled, I resisted the ropes and felt a tugging sensation my back where the corset was. I could feel the skin around the metal rings being to rip.

The ropes forced my hand into Fang's. Fang was standing behind with one arm around my waist and the other gently supporting my hand. Every part of my body hummed. Fang and I were literally inches apart.

The music from the invisible speakers started and Fang and I started dancing.

Together.

We did everything in perfect unison. We twirled, we jumped, we stepped, we glided. I could feel the metal rings of my corset pulling at my skin, but I was so breathlessly in heaven that I didn't notice. I didn't even notice the pain the ropes were causing. Dancing with Fang was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

I don't know how long we danced, but with ever step we took the connected I had with Fang grew stronger. I could feel the way his muscles were working; I could feel the expanding and compressing of his lungs, his calm concentration singing through my body. It was almost as if we were one. I wondered if Fang could feel the connection too or if it was all one sided.

Fang and I performed another lift and the ropes left in that position. The music stopped.

Fang and I were frozen in position, our breath coming out in ragged puffs. The ropes hadn't gone slack yet, so we were forced to stay in the left. I was completely off the ground. My legs were straight out behind me and my arms were extended on either side of me, my chest high. Fang had one hand placed firmed on my stomach, holding me up. His other arm was out and one of his legs was in the air behind him. I could feel his arm start to shake slightly. He wouldn't be able to support me forever.

_**Shit. **_

The thought came from Fang's head. I knew it did.

_**Can't keep up much longer. **_

He even thinks in fragments…

I was about to tell Fang to just go ahead and try to let go when slow clapping made both of us snap our heads in the direction of the door.

"That was very good," Ari said in an oily voice. "Very touching. Very moving. I almost cried."

I glared at Ari. Why wouldn't he let us Fang put me down already?

_**Son of a bitch. **_

My sentiments exactly.

"You can almost see the sexual tension between the two of you when you dance," Ari commented.

"What!" I demanded angrily. "There is no sexual tension! It's more like intense pain! Have you every had giant ropes force you to move?"

"You know I'm getting really sick of your voice," Ari hissed.

"And I'm getting sick of your face!" I snapped.

_**Good one. **_

I smiled triumphantly. Even Fang thought it was a good one. I could feel the amusement bubbling up in Fang.

Ari looked at me fiercely. "I told you to watch that mouth of yours!"

The ropes went slack suddenly and Fang's support buckled. The two of us tumbled down in a heap on the floor.

Ari walked over and grabbed me by the hair, forcing me to stand up. "Remember what I told you?" He whispered menacingly in my ear. "I wasn't kidding. I hate it when women get out of line."

"You sexist pig!" I yelled.

With the strength I had left, I snapped my leg out and kicked Ari in the shin as hard as I could. Ari howled in pain but only tightened his grip on my hair.

"I warned you!" Ari screamed, dragging me after him.

I saw Fang start after Ari but three sharks rushed in and held him back.

_**Shit, shit, shit. **_

Ari pulled me into the costume room and forced me to sit in a chair. Grabbing what strips of cloth he could find, he bound me to the chair.

"Old woman!" He yelled.

The old seamstress hobbled into the room with a costume she was mending. "Yes?" she asked.

"Sew her mouth shut."

"What?"

"Sew her mouth shut!" Ari ordered harshly.

"But, Ari-"

"Do it now!" Ari screamed, ripping the costume from the old woman's hands.

I looked at the old woman with big eyes. He wasn't serious. He wasn't really going to have my mouth sewn shut, was he?

**Oh nose! Her mouth, her mouth!**

**um…yeah, these are the ideas that pop into your head when you have like three hours of sleep and about four cups of coffee. Oh, junior year, how you screw up my brain. Haha **

**Hope you liked it! **

**Review?**

**Nightwings93**


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok…so let's see if Max gets her lips sewn shut, shall we? Some of you doubt she will…heehee. Well, we'll see. **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twelve: Max POV:

"You wouldn't really…?" I pleaded with the seamstress. She couldn't sew my lips shut. She couldn't.

"Ari, I don't think I should-" the seamstress started as Ari lunged forward.

He grabbed both my lips and pressed the tightly together. "You will sew her lips shit or I will," Ari threatened. "I don't want to hear another word form these lips."

The old woman signed. "It'll hurt more if he does it, my dear," she cautioned.

I nodded, my thoughts spinning.

Ari smirked and let go of my mouth. "I'll come back in an hour to see how it looks." Spinning on his heel, Ari stalked out of the room.

"I'm really sorry about this," the seamstress whispered.

I shook my head. He would hurt her too if she didn't comply. "It's fine," I muttered. "You're a prisoner in here, too. It's not like you can go against him."

She nodded sadly. "You'd think he'd treat his own grandmother a little more kindly."

"You're his grandmother!" I cried in disbelief. What kind of a person treats his grandmother this way and imprisons her?

She nodded again. "Now hush. I'll try to make this as painless as possible, dear."

I nodded as well, fear gripping chest. My last words hung in the air around me. This old woman is the person who holds my last words. I didn't get say anything to Nudge or Iggy or Gazzy…or Fang. Or even Angel. I don't even get to give Ari one final verbal thrashing. My last words are: "You're his grandmother!".

No infamous words for Odette Maxine Ride.

The old woman threaded a needle with trembling fingers. I watched her every movement intently. Her hands came closer and closer to my mouth. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to fight her. To rip my arms from the cloth strips Ari had tied around me and knock her arms away.

"WAIT!" I yelled squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't feel anything so I peaked one eye open. The old woman had stopped. "I have one last thing to say: I promise, when I find a way to beak me and the others out, I'll come and get you."

The old lady broke into a smile, crows' feet dancing around her sunken eyes. "Max, if I had a grandchild like you, I would be infinitely proud of her."

I smiled, then reconstructed my face into a neutral position, nodded at the old woman, and braced myself for the pain.

**Fang POV: **

I paced the small white room. Why hadn't I fought harder against the sharks? Why didn't I break into the costume room and get Max out of there? What is Ari going to do to her? What did mean about watching her mouth? What had he told Max before? What was he going to do to her?

I was going to go insane if I didn't find out what was happening.

"Fang, sit down!" Nudge ordered. "You'll wear a hole in the ground for Christ's sake!"

"Nudge, be quiet. If I don't pace, I'll kill someone," I muttered.

Nudge looked surprised. I couldn't blame her. I was surprised, too. I don't usually act like this.

Angel sat stonily in the corner, a wall around her thoughts. Gazzy was sitting next to her looking tired. From the feeling he was giving off, I could tell he was getting sick of all of us not talking to each other. I could even sense that he was a little mad at Angel for what she had said to Max.

In fact, I was getting the feeling from Iggy and Nudge as well. They were both sick of us all acting weird and not talking.

I guess, in a way, Max had completely changed the dynamics of our flock. Just like Angel said. Only, nothing would have changed if Angel hadn't said anything…most likely.

I paced some more, thinking on this new development, trying to wrap my brain around all the things that had happened since Max came into our lives.

I was pacing back and forth when the door slowly opened and Max was pushed through. Nudge screamed in horror.

**Max POV: **

Pain exploded in the right corner of my mouth. The old seamstress had plunged the needle into the skin just above the right side of my top lip. I could feel as the cold, stinging metal slide through my mouth and burst through the skin under my bottom lip.

It was agony.

I could feel the weird sensation of thread being pulled through my skin. My lips tingled and the area around my mouth started to go numb. I could feel the blood draining away from that area of my body, instead of rushing towards the new wounds like blood should.

I wanted desperately to thrash and kick and scream and…talk! I couldn't do any of it. All I could do was sit and feel. Sit and feel.

The old lady made a hissing noise. "You're healing too fast."

I looked up at her in question. She was already half way across my mouth, talking was now a thing of the past. My heart was hit with a painful sting. I couldn't talk anymore. It's really happening.

"So you don't die from surgery, the doctors who operate on you inject you with some medicine or something that allows your body to quickly regenerate," the old woman explained. "Ari explained it to me once, but I really don't get it. Anyway, you're healing so fast that your skin is growing over the stitches. At this rate, if you ever have the opportunity the cut the stitches off, you won't be able to because they will be embedded in your skin."

My eyes widened and I stared at her in horror. I would never speak again. My mouth is forever closed. I can't eat. I can't drink. I can't talk.

Panic rose in my chest. I started making muffled shouting noises. I wasn't sure what it was I was trying to say, but I knew they weren't happy words.

The old woman looked down at me with sad eyes, "I'm sorry. Truly, I am. I didn't foresee this happening."

"Stop lollygagging and finish, dammit!" a voice boomed form over the intercom.

Hurriedly, the old woman finished stitching my mouth. More pain throbbed in my lips but I could already feel the skin around the circular openings closing up and filling in the holes with new flesh.

At this rate, even if I did escape from here, I would never be able to talk.

Ari burst through the door the second the old woman was done.

He looked me over and tapped my tender lips with his index finger. "Good work, hag." He gave his grandmother a disparaging look. "Leave now."

Giving me one more mournful glance, the old lady turned and shuffled out of the room, her shackled feet making scraping noises across the hard concrete floor.

Ari untied me and led me out of the room. "I enjoy your company so much more when you don't talk. Although the stitching hinders your face slight…still, I like the color thread she chose. Purple suits you. Your lips match your corset you know."

I had a witty comeback but I couldn't say it.

"Ah, listen to that. The sweet sound of silence," Ari mused. "It's wonderful."

I glared at his back as he walked ahead of me to the room where my cage waited. I started shouting at him even though I couldn't open my mouth. Words may not come out, but I could still ruin his "sweet sound of silence."

Ari's back tensed. I could I was pissing him off. I kept shouting.

Finally, Ari spun around and gripped my arms fiercely in his hands. He shook me. "Didn't I say to be quiet! Didn't you learn your lesson! Next time, I'll have the doctors remove your vocal chords!"

I stopped making sound. Ari would go through with his threat. He isn't the kind to make empty threats.

Ari smiled and stroked my cheek. "I like it when you're obedient." He flashed me a smile. It reminded me of a snake.

Ari and I walked in silence the rest of the way to the room. When we arrived at the white room with the ominous cages, Ari simply pushed me in. He seemed to be worn out form messing with me so much.

I entered the room and an ear-splitting scream greeted me.

I looked down hoping to conceal my mouth.

"Max! What happened!" Nudge cried.

Still looking down, I rushed into the bathroom.

"Wait, what's up?" I heard Iggy ask. "Explain this to the blind guy, please."

"Her lips…" I heard Nudge start but I quickly slammed the bathroom door shut, cutting off all sound.

Was I really that hideous?

I looked into the mirror and attempted a gasp. I couldn't even gasp anymore. I felt tears prick the backs of my eyes. I refused to cry.

I looked at my lips again. Large "Xs" in purple thread ran across my whole mouth. Puffy red bumps of swollen new skin engulfed the tops and bottoms of each "X". I was hideous. I was disgusting. I was repulsing.

The door to the bathroom slowly opened. I wanted to shout, "Get out!" but found I couldn't. A new wave of tears threatened to fall.

Fang's shiny black hair popped into view of the mirror first before the rest of him followed. I was instantly jealous of him. He was beautiful. Perfectly formed and beautiful.

I glared at him from the mirror. Glaring stopped the tears from falling.

Fang shut the door behind him, leaving the two of us cramped in the small bathroom. "You okay?" he asked. He was seemingly un-phased by my angry eyes.

I squared my shoulders and nodded.

Fang raised and eyebrow. He didn't believe me at all.

I felt my lips quiver in their stitching and my brow furrow as I struggled to keep the tears back. Finally, I shook my head, a few tears escaping and running down my cheeks.

"Didn't think so," Fang murmured.

**Ari, you bastard. **The thought from Fang echoed through my mind. He still didn't know about the connection…and now I couldn't tell him.

Fang came next to me and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. I tried to look down but his strong fingers kept my head in place. He looked me over.

"It's really not that bad," Fang said as he studied my face.

_Easy for you to say, _I thought.

Fang brow furrowed. "Maybe…since my lips aren't sewn shut."

My eyebrows shot up. Could he hear me?

"Kinda…it's really faint though…" Fang trailed off.

This was the most I'd ever heard Fang talk. It was kind of weird.

Fang smirked. "Yeah…kinda weird." Fang brought his other hand up and wiped my tears from my cheeks. "Back's bleeding."

I looked at Fang in question.

"Your back," he said. "Or didn't you notice?"

I shook my head. I hadn't noticed. I was a little preoccupied with the fact that my lips had been sewn shut.

"Turn around," Fang commanded gently.

I turned.

I felt Fang's hands grab the bottom of my night gown and lift it up. I thanked God for the shorts I was wearing under the hospital gown.

"That's not good," Fang muttered.

I turned my head and looked at Fang. _What's not good? _I thought. I thought it really loud and directly at Fang.

"The metal rings are ripping your skin," Fang answered. "When the next scientist comes I'll get you some disinfectant."

**Her lips should be disinfected too. They look too puffy. **

I sighed through my nose.

**I'm gonna kill Ari. **

_If you haven't killed him yet, you're not going to kill him now, _I thought at Fang before I could stop myself.

"You can hear _me?_" Fang demanded.

I froze. How do I explain this?

**Sorry that took so long. I've got my junior paper. It's killing me. Kinda. Actually, a lot. Hahah. **

**Review? **

**Nightwings93 **


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok! So I'm really, really, really sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I had my junior paper due last week so I was really busy getting it done. All in all it ended up being 17 pages…fun, fun, fun. (note sarcasm)…but anyway, I'm on spring break now so expect lots of updates! **

**To the person who had "btw" as their log-in name: thanks for bringing up that point…but I actually already knew that :) that's why I had it happen actually. Not only 'cause it's creepy, but it'll help get things rolling… but thanks for noticing. I know it can be kinda annoying when you read a fanfic that doesn't really obey the laws of life. Haha. **

**Ok…so let's continue!**

**Enjoy! Nightwings93 **

Chapter Thirteen: Max POV:

I grabbed my nightgown from Fang's hands and pulled the fabric down before I turned around to face him. I knew he couldn't hear me unless I thought something directly at him…so why can I hear him all the time? I didn't how to explain it. Wouldn't it just be really awkward? And wouldn't he be wondering why I hadn't told him sooner? Of course…I wasn't really sure it was Fang at first. But, now it's pretty clear. And why does Fang have such a hard time hearing my thoughts? He can hear everyone else's just fine.

I sighed through my nose again.

_I can hear your thoughts. _

I decided it was best to just go with a straightforward approach.

"I gathered that," Fang muttered.

_I don't know why I can hear your thoughts…ever since my surgery; I could hear your thoughts. _

"Anything else?"

_I can sense your emotions…_

Fang just nodded. He was taking everything in stride. "Since surgery…" was all he said quietly.

_Why can you hear my thoughts now suddenly when you couldn't before? _

Fang shrugged. "Been since my surgery. But it's really faint."

I looked at Fang's wings. His wings that used to be all black that now had a line of white running along the bottom. I extended my left wing slightly. Mine were the exact opposite of Fang's. White with a line of black along the bottom.

_I think you have some of my feathers, _I thought softly.

"Some of your feathers?" Fang repeated. "But how would you have some of mine if I had surgery after you?"

_Have you ever molted before?_ I never thought I would ask someone a question like that before…

Fang thought for a moment. "Once…a few years ago. The scientist took the feathers…"

_So that must be why we can hear each other. _

"Still doesn't explain why I couldn't before, though. And why would they want us to hear each other?" Fang asked, he brow furrowing slightly.

I shrugged.

Fang's head snapped towards the door. **The scientists are here. They're going to take everyone else. I'll go get some disinfectant for you. **

I nodded.

I waited as Fang left. He closed the door behind him so I couldn't hear what was going on in the other room. I could tell though, from the feelings Fang was radiating, that he was using some not so nice methods to get me some disinfectant.

For some reason, Fang felt torn when he used his powers. He felt disgusting for being such a freak, he hated that he was hurting someone else; yet, in a way, he enjoyed it. He liked that he could have small vengeful victories now and again. But, that feeling disgusted him even more. Fang is definitely a more complex person than I give him credit for. And, even though I can hear his thoughts and know what he's feelings, I feel even more mystified by him.

Fang came back with a bottle of rubbing alcohol, his face set in a frown.

**Can you reach your back? **Fang asked.

I shook my head.

**Turn around then. **Fang thought.

_Why don't you speak when you can? _I demanded.

**Because I don't like talking. **

_Talking is a privilege, you know. _

**Easy for you to say. **

_What's that supposed to mean? _

Fang didn't answer and when I tried to look into Fang's thoughts, I found a thick barrier between me and his mind. 

"I'll get your back," Fang mumbled.

I turned and lifted up my nightgown. I really wanted to know what Fang meant, but I knew he wasn't going to tell me. If he ever did tell me, he would tell me when he was ready. I still think that Fang doesn't trust me one hundred percent yet. And, I can't blame him since I don't really trust everyone completely either.

I bit down on my tongue and held my breath as Fang dabbed my back with the rubbing alcohol. Little needles of pain shot through my back.

_Is it infected? _I asked mentally.

"Yeah, I think so. It's pretty puffy and red. And, it looks like some of the metal rings are getting rusted," Fang replied as he applied more disinfectant.

Shit. I could get blood poisoning. What the hell does Ari think he's doing? If went to all that trouble to kidnap me, he might as well try and keep me alive.

"Done," Fang announced after wiping down my back with one final application of rubbing alcohol.

I dropped my nightgown and turned to face Fang. I stopped short. He was closer than I expected. I could feel his breath tickling my face. My heart beat sped up a little. My chest started to tighten. He was too close. And the walls of the bathroom were starting to close in. There wasn't enough room. My breath came out of my nose in small, ragged puffs.

_Excuse me. _I thought tersely as I brushed past Fang.

I immediately felt better as I stepped out into the somewhat larger room that held our cages. There was a little more room and I could breath easily again.

Fang walked into the room after me, looking un-phased. He held out the bottle of rubbing alcohol. "You should probably disinfect your lips."

I nodded, grabbed the bottle from him, walked to the other side of the room, and sat down- leaning my back against the wall.

I poured the rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball that I had also grabbed from Fang and wiped it over my lips. I sucked in a large breath through my nose as sharp pain coated my lips.

Fang and I sat in silence until the others returned.

*****8*****8*****8*****8*****8*****

Fang and I didn't talk for the rest of the day. I was too busy mourning the loss of my voice and wondering what Fang meant by not liking to talk to actually care about anything else that was going on in the room.

Nudge couldn't stop staring at my lips and Iggy wouldn't stop pestering her for gory details. Gazzy wanted to poke my lips but backed off after Fang gave him a warning glare. Angel didn't do anything. She just gave me a smug look as if to say I deserved what I got.

I ignored everything. I couldn't be bothered by anything. In comparison to losing my ability to talk, everything else seemed trivial.

I stayed in the same place against the wall all day, brushing my fingers across my tender lips, until a few sharks burst into the room and stuffed all of us into our cages. I was stuck in the cramped cage with Fang again. I was all too aware of just how close he was. There was barely an inch between the two of us.

_Why don't you like talking? _I thought at Fang

**I don't really see how that's any of your business. **Fang replied tersely.

There was still a tightly packed wall around Fang's mind and he was only allowing me to see specific thoughts. I wanted to break through the wall and delve into Fang's memories and find out what it was that him hate talking so much…but, Fang was right, it was none of my business to pry into his private memories.

_Well, good night. _I thought quietly as I rested my head on my knees.

Fang didn't reply but I could sense swirling guilt from his side of the cage.

*****8*****8*****8*****8*****

I was roughly shaken from my reoccurring nightmare as a shark rattled my cage.

"Get up birdies!" the shark shouted as he opened the cage door and Fang and I tumbled out onto the floor.

My breath wooshed out of my nose as Fang's elbow smacked into my stomach. Fang jumped off of me as fast as he could and helped me into a standing position.

**You okay? **Fang asked.

I nodded and made a weird coughing noise through my nose as my breath slowly came back to my body. I slowly straightened and shook Fang's hand off my arm. _I'm Fine. _I thought testily.

Fang put his hands up slightly as if to remind me not to snap at him because it wasn't his fault I was woken up in an unpleasant manner.

"So, you haven't been able to eat, right?" A voice asked from behind me.

I turned and saw a white coat coming in with an IV drip. I backed away. I don't do needles. Needles and I are not friends. I was seriously getting sick of them. All needles have done so far is screw up my life.

I kept backing up until I ran into something cold and hard. I whipped my head around and came face to face with the pupil-less eyes of a shark. I started forward but was too slow. The shark grabbed both my arms and held me in place as the scientist stalked forward with the drip.

Fang rushed forward but was blocked by two other sharks.

"Well, isn't that cute," the scientist commented. "Trying to be a knight in shining armor, Fang?"

Fang glared at the white coat and tried to muscle his way past the sharks but failed.

_Leave it alone, Fang. Don't worry about it. _I thought as the scientist grabbed my right and tied a rubber band around my arm just above my elbow.

The vein in my arm bulged and the white coat in inserted the IV needle into my arm.

"This'll give you the nutrients you need and stop you from getting dehydrated," the scientist muttered.

I just glared up at him. I didn't get why they were making the effort to make sure I was healthy.

"Ari doesn't want one of his principle dancers dying on us," the white coat informed me.

I shuddered as the needle was extracted from my arm.

"Alright, let's go," the scientist ordered.

I struggled out of the shark's grasp and walked after the scientist with Fang trailing behind me. We walked down the long white hallway and went into the dancing room with all the mirrors.

Fang and were hooked up to the dancing ropes and forced together. We were going to dance together again. My heart hitched slightly in anticipation. Last time we danced together it felt like we were flying. It was breath taking.

The ropes yanked me and Fang into our starting positions and the music sounded from the invisible speakers.

Fang and I started to dance. We started out slowly and then picked up our pace. The metal rings of corset were tugging at my back and the ropes were rubbing my ankles, wrists, and neck raw. Fang and were doing a complicated lift when I noticed my labored breathing.

I always came out of the dancing tests short of breath but I never had too much trouble breathing during the dancing. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, threatening to beat out of my ribcage. I tried to take larger breaths through my nose but found that even large gulps of air through my nose couldn't fill my lungs with enough air.

I started taking shorter, faster breaths of air in through my nose. I could feel panic settling in my chest.

I couldn't breathe.

I felt my limbs going numb as oxygen exited my arms and legs and fed my brain. I tried to desperately suck in more air but I couldn't get enough to come in through my nose.

My lips struggled to open against the stitching so I could pull in a larger breath but the thread held fast.

_FANG! _I screamed in my head. _I can't breathe! _

"What?" Fang's voice asked in disbelief. "Stop the music! Cut the ropes!" Fang shouted. Nothing happened. "She can't breathe for shits sake!"

I felt the ropes go slack just as black dots took over my vision.

…

"You need to cut the threads on her lips so she can breathe," I heard a voice say in the blackness.

"I refuse to cut the thread," another voice replied. I was positive it was Ari's voice.

"Then she'll die," the other voice countered.

"Hey! You can't tell me what to do! I own everyone here. You're the miracle doctor, think of a way to revive her without cutting the damn thread!" Ari shouted.

I heard the other man sigh. "This should be interesting." Some clattering ensued above my head and an electric whirring sound buzzed next to my ears. "Right, um, clear?"

I tried to pop my eyes open and wake up before he could shock me awake but I couldn't. My body tensed as I sensed the electrified paddles coming closer.

For a moment everything was calm and silent and then a sharp life-bringing pain radiated through my whole body. My heart picked up its pace, air came into my lungs through my nose, and my eyes flew open.

"Good work, doctor. Now, leave," Ari said as he smirked over me.

My vision cleared and I found myself in a brand new room I had never seen before. I sat up and looked around. I was propped up on a big oaken desk. I was in a dimly lit room with dark walls that were covered in pictures of ballerinas. There was a large king sized bed in the corner of the room and stacks of books on the floor about genetic engineering and complex surgeries. There was also something in this room that I had not seen before in any of the other rooms.

Windows.

I looked out the windows and saw real light for the first time in over a month. Sunlight. Blue sky. Fluffy white clouds. Green grass.

How could the world seem so peaceful and carefree outside of this prison?

"Glad to see you're awake," Ari said, he face looming close to mine.

I scooted away from him and glared from a safe distance.

"You are so much prettier when you can't open that big mouth of yours, you know?" Ari leered as he leaned closer.

I slipped off the desk and edged over to the door.

"How cute," Ari purred. It's just me and you, sweat cheeks," Ari informed me, eyeing the king sized bed in the corner of the room.

I felt my eyes grow in size and I whirled around and ran for the door. I tugged on the handle of the door. It wouldn't budge.

Ari laughed. "Did you really think that I would keep the door unlocked?"

I spun and looked at Ari as he walked forward. There was only one thing I could do. It was the only way I could get out.

I looked down shyly and walked towards Ari meekly. My skin was crawling and I couldn't believe what I was about to do.

"Well, that's more like it," Ari mumbled.

I put my arms around Ari's neck and angled my head towards his.

"Haven't you gotten affectionate?" Ari asked as he tangled his hands through my hair.

I brushed my nose against Ari's nose and made doe eyes at him. My skin was covered in goose bumps and I felt like barfing.

Ari smirked and leaned his head towards mine. Before our lips could brush, I twisted Ari's neck to the side and brought my knee up to his groin. I let go of Ari, pushed him away and stepped aside.

Ari choked and spluttered as he clutched his tender man parts.

I walked over to the thick oak desk and grabbed the keys to the door. I strode over to Ari and crouched down in front of him, jingling the keys. There was no way I was going to be that easy.

I smiled down at Ari through my stitches, unlocked the door, and walked out; all the while a plan going through my head.

**Ok…so I'm sorry that took so damn long. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Anyway- the next chapter is coming soon, I promise. **

**Hope you liked it!**

**Nightwings93 **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey- so like I said…next chapter is here pretty quick!**

**Hope you like it! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Fourteen: Max POV:

I sprinted down the white hallway I was in. There were no turns, no doors, just white. I had narrowly escaped from Ari and now I was lost in an endless hallway of white. How could I possibly put my plan into action if I never got out of this hallway?

I picked up my pace and concentrated on steadily breathing through my nose. How was I supposed to find them? How was I supposed to get back to the room with the cages and tell everyone my plan?

_FANG! _I called out loudly in my mind. _Fang, where are you guys! _

**In the room. **Fang's voice answered in my mind.

_Well, no shit. How do I get there from here? _

**Follow the sound of my voice? **Fang offered.

I sighed. _You're really helpful. _

**Hang on…Nudge says she can hear your footsteps. You're close. You'll see a door in about less than a minute. **

I slowed to a walk and looked in both directions. I didn't see anything until a seam in the wall caught my eye. I ran my hand along the wall next to the seam until I found a small latch in the wall that was nearly invisible. I pulled on the latch and small door swung open revealing a key hole.

I looked down at the key I had on the brass ring that I stole from Ari's desk. Hopefully, it would fit the hole.

I inserted the key and there was a loud clicking noise. The door swung open. I slipped the key into the pocket of my shorts and walked into the room.

Nudge, Gazzy and Angel looked at me with big eyes.

Iggy swung his head in my general direction. "That sounds like Max."

"Yeah, it's Max. But, how did she get here without one of the sharks? You look really pale Max. You look like you've seen a ghost. Or like you came back from the dead. Or like you-" Nudge got cut off as Iggy slapped a hand over her mouth.

"I get it. It's Max and she looks like crap," Iggy muttered.

"She never said Max looks like crap, Iggy," Gazzy corrected.

"But his inference skills are amazing," Angel sniggered.

Fang shot Angel a harsh glare as he walked over to me. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me after him into the bathroom.

_Wait, I have to tell everyone my plan. _I thought to Fang.

**Run it by me first. **Fang replied.

_Why should I? _ I demanded. I didn't really mind telling Fang first but I was a little shocked by his reaction.

"Because I have been keeping this flock safe from the beginning. I'm not going to let them believe in a plan before I look over it first. You've only been here over a month. We've been here for most of our lives. I can't let you get their hopes up with a faulty plan," Fang replied quietly.

I looked up at Fang and I could feel just how protective Fang was when it came to his flock.

_Fine. I wasn't thinking of giving them false hopes._

Fang nodded. **I know that. Just run it by me. Maybe I can help you iron out the kinks. **

_Okay, so this is what I was thinking…_

*****8*****8*****8******8*****8*****

"So you guys go the plan?" Fang asked everyone.

Everyone nodded. "You come up with that all on your own, Fang?" Nudge asked.

"No, Max did," Fang answered.

"Come on Nudge, we all know there isn't much brain activity going on behind Fang's gorgeous eyes," Iggy laughed.

"How do you know my eyes are gorgeous?" Fang demanded.

"Nudge once spent exactly 57 minutes describing your eyes. It was a very long 57 minutes," Iggy replied.

"Well, they are pretty awesome," Fang smirked.

_You are so modest. _I cut in.

Fang flashed me a smile and my stomach started to churn and I could feel heat creeping up my neck.

"So we'll put the plan into action as soon as we can," Fang said.

Everyone nodded.

"OMG I'm just so excited!" Nudge squealed.

"Don't be too loud, Nudge. The scientists will get suspicious and come check on us," Gazzy cautioned.

"You're talking to Nudge, you know that right, Gaz?" Iggy asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Gazzy grinned.

"The scientists are coming," Nudge informed us.

"Sharks too," Fang added.

A few moments later, the scientists and the sharks walked in.

"Get in your cages," one of the scientists snapped.

Fang gave everyone one last glance and we all climbed quietly in our cages.

"Well, they certainly are obliging today," one of the younger scientists commented.

"Of course they are," an older looking scientist replied. "They've been here long enough to know by now that fighting us is useless. They're broken."

The younger scientist smirked at me. "I like the looks of that one," he said gesturing to me.

_Well, I don't like the looks of you! _I snapped in my head. If only I could talk.

"Don't touch that one. She belongs to Ari," the older scientist warned.

_I don't belong to anyone, you asshole! _I shouted back.

"Ari always keeps the best things for himself," the younger scientist grumbled.

"If you inherited a couple billion dollars and a ballet company from your father, you would keep all the best things for yourself too," the older scientist muttered.

"Tell me about it," the other scientist said as they exited the room with the sharks trailing behind.

**They're idiots. Sorry Max. **Fang's voice murmured in my mind.

_Sadly, I'm getting used to it here. _I replied.

**Yeah…well, you don't have to worry. You definitely don't belong to anyone. **

I smiled over at Fang. We were sharing our cage again. Angel was glaring at us from the other cage. I think she could sense that Fang and I had found a way to nonverbally communicate.

I smirked at her, my childish side getting the better of me.

_Do you think my plan will work? _I asked Fang. I needed to be reassured. I don't like turning to someone else find strength, but I wanted to be reassured by Fang.

**So now you're having doubts? **Fang gave me a crooked smirk to let me know he was joking, but I could already tell. His voice said it all.

My heart did a little flip flop as Fang's pearly whites shone at me through the dim light of our room. _Just a little. I don't want to disappoint everyone if it doesn't work. _

**I really think that this plan could work. I really do. You've got nothing to worry about.**

_What if Ari doesn't play his part?_

**He will. We're due for a group dancing session. **

I nodded.

Fang patted my knee. **Don't worry too much. It'll work out. **

I smiled at Fang. _You're surprisingly optimistic. _

Fang shrugged. **I do what I can. **

I felt my eye-lids begin to droop. I was finally starting to feel tired after the day's escapade. I still half expected Ari to come storming into the room but judging from how hard I kneed him, he might be visiting his surgeons to get his man parts retrieved. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Ari in excruciating pain.

My eyes started closing on their own.

_You do a good job protecting this flock, Fang. _I murmured as my eyes shut and my head drooped onto Fang's shoulder.

I felt Fang tense beneath me for a moment then relax. I wasn't sure why I was resting on Fang but I was too tired to move.

_I was walking down a dirt road, angry trees in twisted shapes looming over me. I took the left path at a fork in the rod and started to pick up my pace. Something was tugging at my body, urging me forward. I knew I had seen this path before. I somehow knew where I was going. I somehow knew that what was waiting for me was something that I didn't want to see, but I couldn't stop going forward. Maybe if I got there fast enough, I could stop it…only; I didn't know what I was stopping. _

_I started running, twigs and long grass slapping against my bare feet and ankles. I burst through some trees blocking my path and found myself on the bank of a large lake. I figure flying against the moon caught my eye. I looked up. _

_It was Fang. _

_I could tell. His midnight wings glistened in the pale moonlight and the new white feathers at the bottom of his wings shone pearly white. He glided gracefully onto the lake and floated just above the water. _

_Another figure swooped down on the lake and hovered in front of Fang. She looked just like me. But, there was something odd about her. She didn't look like me…but at the same time she did. I was about to call out to Fang when a hand clamped over my mouth. _

"_You thought you would be safe from me in your dreams, didn't you?" Ari's voice whispered in my ear. "You can never escape me, Odette."_

_I tried to scream and break free of Ari's grasp but I couldn't. _

"_You can't run away from me. You're not the one controlling this dream anymore," Ari hissed, his breath tickling the back of neck making my skin crawl. "Watch what's going to happen."_

_Ari held me in place as I was forced to watch the scene that was going on before me. Fang and was talking with the other me._

_I couldn't hear what they were saying until Fang announced: "I love you," in his beautifully deep voice. _

_The other me smiled seductively up at him and leaned her face towards his. She tilted her chin and plastered her lips on Fang's. _

"_I can't breathe," I spluttered. Then I gasped as I realized that I could talk. "I…my lips. They're not sewn shut."_

_Ari sniggered. "Of course they're not. If they were, I couldn't do this…"_

_Ari spun me around and smashed his lips onto mine. I tried to squirm away bit I couldn't. He was too strong. His hands were wrapped around my wrists in a vice-like grip. He pressed his lips tighter to mine and tried to press his body closer to mine. _

_I tried to pull away. I still couldn't breathe. It felt like something was trying to rip my heart from its chest. On top of that, being kissed by Ari made me want to vomit. _

_I had to wake up. It was the only way I could escape. _

_Ari chuckled into my mouth. "You can't wake up until I say you can," Ari whispered as he pulled away for a moment then crushed my lips under his again. _

_I struggled. I had to get out. I had to wake up. _

_Wake up. _

_Wake up. _

_Oh my God I need to wake up!_

I started and sat bolt upright, my head smacking into the ceiling of my cage. I looked around wildly. I was in my cage…with Fang…Ari wasn't in the room. I was safe. I touched my fingers to my lips. They were still stitched shut but I could still feel Ari on my lips. I rubbed the back of my hand against my lips. I had to get the feeling off. I had to get Ari off me.

"Max, stop," Fang's voice sounded in my ear as he grabbed my wrist. "You'll make your lips bleed."

I pulled my hand away. _Sorry, weird dream. _

"Yeah, I figured. You were thrashing around a lot," Fang muttered.

_Oh, sorry. _

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, it's almost time to wake up," Fang informed me.

"We only get 3 hours and 48 minutes to sleep," Iggy chimed in from the other cage.

_Thanks, Iggy. _

"Max says thanks," Fang told Iggy.

"I'm gonna assume she was being sarcastic," Iggy guessed.

"Not that having someone tell us the exact time is annoying but…" Nudge piped up.

"Ok, it's not like I asked for this superpower," Iggy quipped.

"Scientists," Nudge and Fang chimed.

"OMG Fang that was so cool. We totally just spoke at the same time. Wasn't that so cool, Iggy? Man, we must be like on the same wavelength or something," Nudge squealed.

"Or Fang's a mind reader…but you know that's just speculation," Iggy replied.

I tried to laugh, but found it more difficult now that my lips were sewn shut. Instead, it sounded more like a pig snort.

Fang chuckled, a deep rumbling noise that seemed to emit from the depth of his stomach.

I rolled my eyes and smacked Fang just as the two scientists from the night before a few sharks walked into our room.

The sharks walked forward and opened both cages.

"Everybody out," the older scientist ordered. "We're all dancing today."

_Fang, this is exactly what we needed. Who would have thought we would be so lucky?_

**Yeah…who would have thought?**

My stomach started to churn. Fang didn't sound as optimistic as he did last night. Something about his tone was suspicious and unhopeful. I started to feel less hopeful as well. What if my plan doesn't work? What if I can't get everyone out?

"Come on, get moving," the younger scientist commanded.

We filed out of our cages and walked out of the room. Nudge stuck close to Iggy and chatted softly in his ear about seemingly random things that actually had to do with our escape plan. We had come up with a sort of code the night before so we could still talk about the plan in front of the scientists.

Angel held on to Gazzy's hand and sucked her thumb. She eyed the scientists thoughtfully. I could see the wheels spinning behind her eyes. She was thinking of something. There was something that bothered me about Angel, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it and I was about to help her break out of this hell, so we were going to have to settle our differences

We walked into the dancing room and the ropes cascaded down from the ceiling. Everyone was hooked up to the long lines and the music began.

**Everybody ready?** Fang's voice echoed through my head…and everyone else's as well.

_Ready. _I replied.

Everyone else gave slight nods and responded to Fang in with their minds.

**Great. Everybody keep your eyes on Max…except Iggy. You just listen.**

Iggy rolled his unfocused eyes and I am pretty positive he made some sort of biting comment to Fang via telepathy.

The music started and our plan began.

**Ok! Hope you liked it. Next chapter the plan will unfold!**

**Nightwings93**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone… so I know I haven't updated in ages… and don't worry I'm NOT writing this to say that I'm stopping Winged Puppets. I'm simply writing this to say that I will continue but do not expect another chapter until after June 9****th****. Things with school are super busy right now…what with studying for finals and having to apply to colleges and scholarship programs. **

**So…Winged Puppets shall continue after June 9****th****… and no worries, I promise to update like 4 chapters in one day since you guys have been waiting do patiently! **

**I'll be writing soon, **

**Nightwings93 **


	17. Chapter 17

**Yikes…sorry this took so long. Thanks for waiting, guys! I totally thought I'd have this up by the 10****th****… who knew summer could be busier than school! **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

**Ok-so someone asked for "Previously on Winged Puppets" since it's been so long… so: **

**Previously on Winged Puppets: **

_Picking up from Chapter 10: _

_My breath caught in my throat and my legs buckled. I landed hard on my knees as the pain spread through my back. _

"_What the hell are you doing!" I shouted as I clutched at my back._

_She yanked on the string again and rib cage squeezed tighter together. I sucked in another breath. It was getting harder to breathe. _

"_I can't breathe," I choked. _

"_You'll get used to it," the old woman said. She gave a final tug and my rib cage felt like it was going to collapse it was being squished so badly. "There," she said, stepping back. "Take a look." She pointed to a three-way mirror. _

_Standing slowly, I painstakingly walked over to the three sided mirror. I gasped. The old seamstress had sewed a corset into my back. _

"_What did they do to you?" I whispered. _

_Fang sat completely still for a moment then extended his wings slightly so I could see them. My jaw dropped. The whole bottom row of Fang's beautiful black feathers had been replaced with white ones. Fang's feathers now looked just like mine only in reverse. _

"_Oh," I mumbled. "I'm sorry it hurt." _

_Fang looked surprised for a moment. And by surprised I mean his eyes widened about one third of an inch. "I never said it hurt." _

"_Oh…um…I just assumed…" I trailed off. I remembered feeling a pain in my wings earlier that day. A pain that wasn't mine. An intense pain that would hurt even someone as tough as Fang. _

_Fang had banged both fists against the bars of our cage. "God dammit, Angel!" Fang yelled. "Stop saying those things!" _

_Tears streaked down Angel's face. "Why not? Huh! Why not! You know I'm right! You know it!" Angel shrieked angrily. "It's disgusting watching you go nuts over her! I see the way you look at her!" Angel gestured over to me but I couldn't react. "It's sickening! You're just trying to replace what you lost with her! And she's just…she's just…!" Angel let out a frustrated scream and burst into tears again. She put her head in her hands and her small body wracked with sobs. _

_I inched forward and pressed my face to the bars of the cage and looked down at Angel. _

"_Angel," I said softly. What could I say? "I'm sorry. But, I'm not sure what you want me to do. What can I do to make it better?" _

_Angel lifted her head and glared at me. Man, if looks could kill. "Go die!" Angel screamed. _

_Chapter 11: _

_I looked at Angel, feeling nothing. Thinking nothing. Having nothing to say. _

_It seemed to piss her off more. Or scare her. I couldn't tell. She looked back at me, her eyes set in a harsh glare, and her body shook. _

"_Say something!" Angel snapped. _

"_Maybe I should," I whispered. "It's not like I'm doing anyone a service by living." _

"_Would it make you happier if I died?" I asked, not really registering any emotions. Just a hollow buzzing feeling in the pit of my stomach and a strange nauseated feeling coming from the person I was connected to. _

_Angel snorted, new tears forming in her eyes. She was trying to hold it in, but I could tell she was so pissed that she was going to explode again. "Don't try and act so perfect," she spat. "As if you care what will make me happier. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You weaseled your way in here, pretending to be friends with us." _

"_Angel," Fang muttered. "That's enough." _

"_No! It isn't! She's going to screw everything up just like he said she would. He told me she'd mess everything up!" Angel snapped her head in Fang's direction and glared at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. "And you! Don't try and act like you've done nothing. He told me what you did to us. I know what you did! And, I know what you're gonna do. You're going to abandon us all for her! He said you would and I can see now that he was right!" Angel burst into another fit of tears. _

_Angel's words had stirred up a thought that had been resting in the back of my mind since my parents died. _

_Why bother caring about people when all they do is die on you?_

_When the ropes in the room dropped, I noticed Fang and I were closer than the last time we had tested together. The music started and the ropes swung me and Fang into each other. _

_Startled, I resisted the ropes and felt a tugging sensation my back where the corset was. I could feel the skin around the metal rings being to rip. _

_The ropes forced my hand into Fang's. Fang was standing behind with one arm around my waist and the other gently supporting my hand. Every part of my body hummed. Fang and I were literally inches apart. _

_The music from the invisible speakers started and Fang and I started dancing. _

_Together_.

"_That was very good," Ari said in an oily voice. "Very touching. Very moving. I almost cried."_

_I glared at Ari. Why wouldn't he let Fang put me down already?_

_**Son of a bitch.**_

_My sentiments exactly. _

"_You can almost see the sexual tension between the two of you when you dance," Ari commented. _

"_What!" I demanded angrily. "There is no sexual tension! It's more like intense pain! Have you every had giant ropes force you to move?"_

"_You know I'm getting really sick of your voice," Ari hissed. _

"_And I'm getting sick of your face!" I snapped. _

_Ari looked at me fiercely. "I told you to watch that mouth of yours!"_

_Ari pulled me into the costume room and forced me to sit in a chair. Grabbing what strips of cloth he could find, he bound me to the chair. _

"_Old woman!" He yelled. _

_The old seamstress hobbled into the room with a costume she was mending. "Yes?" she asked. _

"_Sew her mouth shut."_

_Chapter 12: _

"_I'm really sorry about this," the seamstress whispered._

_I shook my head. He would hurt her too if she didn't comply. "It's fine," I muttered. "You're a prisoner in here, too. It's not like you can go against him." _

_She nodded sadly. "You'd think he'd treat his own grandmother a little more kindly." _

"_You're his grandmother!" I cried in disbelief. What kind of a person treats his grandmother this way and imprisons her?_

_She nodded again. "Now hush. I'll try to make this as painless as possible, dear." _

_The old woman threaded a needle with trembling fingers. I watched her every movement intently. Her hands came closer and closer to my mouth. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to fight her. To rip my arms from the cloth strips Ari had tied around me and knock her arms away. _

"_WAIT!" I yelled squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't feel anything so I peaked one eye open. The old woman had stopped. "I have one last thing to say: I promise, when I find a way to beak me and the others out, I'll come and get you."_

_The old lady broke into a smile, crows' feet dancing around her sunken eyes. "Max, if I had a grandchild like you, I would be infinitely proud of her." _

_I smiled, then reconstructed my face into a neutral position, nodded at the old woman, and braced myself for the pain. _

_Pain exploded in the right corner of my mouth. The old seamstress had plunged the needle into the skin just above the right side of my top lip. I could feel as the cold, stinging metal slide through my mouth and burst through the skin under my bottom lip. _

_It was agony. _

_I could feel the weird sensation of thread being pulled through my skin. My lips tingled and the area around my mouth started to go numb. I could feel the blood draining away from that area of my body, instead of rushing towards the new wounds like blood should._

_I wanted desperately to thrash and kick and scream and…talk! I couldn't do any of it. All I could do was sit and feel. Sit and feel. _

_Chapter 13: _

_**I can hear your thoughts. **_

_I decided it was best to just go with a straightforward approach. _

"_I gathered that," Fang muttered. _

_**I don't know why I can hear your thoughts…ever since my surgery; I could hear your thoughts. **_

"_Anything else?"_

_**I can sense your emotions…**_

_Fang just nodded. He was taking everything in stride. "Since surgery…" was all he said quietly. _

_**Why can you hear my thoughts now suddenly when you couldn't before? **_

_Fang shrugged. "Been since my surgery. But it's really faint."_

_The vein in my arm bulged and the white coat in inserted the IV needle into my arm. _

"_This'll give you the nutrients you need and stop you from getting dehydrated," the scientist muttered. _

_I just glared up at him. I didn't get why they were making the effort to make sure I was healthy. _

"_Ari doesn't want one of his principle dancers dying on us," the white coat informed me. _

_I shuddered as the needle was extracted from my arm. _

"_Alright, let's go," the scientist ordered._

_I always came out of the dancing tests short of breath but I never had too much trouble breathing during the dancing. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, threatening to beat out of my ribcage. I tried to take larger breaths through my nose but found that even large gulps of air through my nose couldn't fill my lungs with enough air. _

_I started taking shorter, faster breaths of air in through my nose. I could feel panic settling in my chest. _

_I couldn't breathe. _

_I felt my limbs going numb as oxygen exited my arms and legs and fed my brain. I tried to desperately suck in more air but I couldn't get enough to come in through my nose. _

_My lips struggled to open against the stitching so I could pull in a larger breath but the thread held fast. _

_I felt the ropes go slack just as black dots took over my vision. _

_For a moment everything was calm and silent and then a sharp life-bringing pain radiated through my whole body. My heart picked up its pace, air came into my lungs through my nose, and my eyes flew open. _

"_Good work, doctor. Now, leave," Ari said as he smirked over me. _

_My vision cleared and I found myself in a brand new room I had never seen before. I sat up and looked around. I was propped up on a big oaken desk. I was in a dimly lit room with dark walls that were covered in pictures of ballerinas. There was a large king sized bed in the corner of the room and stacks of books on the floor about genetic engineering and complex surgeries. There was also something in this room that I had not seen before in any of the other rooms. _

_Windows. _

_I looked out the windows and saw real light for the first time in over a month. Sunlight. Blue sky. Fluffy white clouds. Green grass. _

_How could the world seem so peaceful and carefree outside of this prison?_

_I walked over to the thick oak desk and grabbed the keys to the door. I strode over to Ari and crouched down in front of him, jingling the keys. There was no way I was going to be that easy. _

_I smiled down at Ari through my stitches, unlocked the door, and walked out; all the while a plan going through my head. _

_Chapter 14: _

"_So you guys got the plan?" Fang asked everyone. _

_Everyone nodded. "You come up with that all on your own, Fang?" Nudge asked. _

"_No, Max did," Fang answered. _

"_Come on Nudge, we all know there isn't much brain activity going on behind Fang's gorgeous eyes," Iggy laughed. _

"_How do you know my eyes are gorgeous?" Fang demanded. _

"_Nudge once spent exactly 57 minutes describing your eyes. It was a very long 57 minutes," Iggy replied. _

"_Well, they are pretty awesome," Fang smirked. _

_**You are so modest.**__I cut in._

_Fang flashed me a smile and my stomach started to churn and I could feel heat creeping up my neck. _

_The sharks walked forward and opened both cages. _

"_Everybody out," the older scientist ordered. "We're all dancing today."_

_**Fang, this is exactly what we needed. Who would have thought we would be so lucky?**_

**Yeah…who would have thought?**

_My stomach started to churn. Fang didn't sound as optimistic as he did last night. Something about his tone was suspicious and unhopeful. I started to feel less hopeful as well. What if my plan doesn't work? What if I can't get everyone out?_

"_Come on, get moving," the younger scientist commanded. _

_We filed out of our cages and walked out of the room. Nudge stuck close to Iggy and chatted softly in his ear about seemingly random things that actually had to do with our escape plan. We had come up with a sort of code the night before so we could still talk about the plan in front of the scientists. _

_Angel held on to Gazzy's hand and sucked her thumb. She eyed the scientists thoughtfully. I could see the wheels spinning behind her eyes. She was thinking of something. There was something that bothered me about Angel, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it and I was about to help her break out of this hell, so we were going to have to settle our differences _

_We walked into the dancing room and the ropes cascaded down from the ceiling. Everyone was hooked up to the long lines and the music began._

**Everybody ready?** _Fang's voice echoed through my head…and everyone else's as well. _

_**Ready**__. I replied. _

_Everyone else gave slight nods and responded to Fang in with their minds. _

**Great. Everybody keep your eyes on Max…except Iggy. You just listen.**

_Iggy rolled his unfocused eyes and I am pretty positive he made some sort of biting comment to Fang via telepathy. _

_The music started and our plan began. _

**OKAY! NOW THE STORY PICKS BACK UP! **

Chapter Fifteen: Max POV:

The music blared from the invisible speakers and the six of us danced around the room, each of our individual parts mixing into an oddly beautiful pattern of somewhat fluid motion. The ropes tugged and yanked us in different directions and contorted positions. Even though we had all gotten used to the way the ropes made us move, our skin was still being ripped raw. I surveyed the room.

Gazzy's neck was bleeding. He just couldn't get his posture to be tall enough for the ropes' picky taste.

Angel was bounding across the room. Her ropes almost looked slack. My mind must be playing tricks on me.

Iggy was moving across the room with relative easy; however, his left ankle was gushing blood. Iggy had told me that his ankle had been broken a few years ago and the bone wasn't set properly by the scientists here, so he couldn't turn his ankle certain ways. As Iggy danced across the room, his face contorted in more and more pain. My stomach churned in anger. I couldn't wait to put my plan into action.

I checked on Nudge. Her long, lean body was moving gracefully over the floor with ease. She was a beautiful dancer. It seemed to come so naturally to her. It made me almost envious that Nudge could make it look so effortless. The only reason I knew that Nudge was having some trouble was because of the way she kept wincing whenever she had to move.

My eyes cut over to Fang. He muscled body was gliding over the floor. Fang had been dancing the longest and it showed. His strong muscles expanded and contracted with each powerful movement. I was captivated when I watched Fang dance.

**Max, you should do it soon. **Fang thought to me.

_Okay. I'm gonna wait until we do a lift or a jump. _I answered.

**Alright. Give me a heads up.**

_Will do. _

We continued dancing. I gauged my breathing so I wouldn't pass out again. At least, not until I needed to pass out.

The ropes yanked me in Fang's direction. I could sense a lift coming. Fang's large hands gripped my waist and his strong arms threw me into the air. I extended my wings slightly, making my decent easy and light.

_Now. _I thought loudly to Fang.

I started sucking in short breaths through my nose. I chest started rising and falling rapidly. I let a wild, panicked look come across my face as I floated down to Fang. I tried to take breaths through my nose and a weird snorting noise sounded from my nose.

I let my wings go rigid for a moment before letting them fall limp at my sides. My arms and legs fell like dead weights and I crashed into Fang as the ropes cut deep into my skin.

"Shit! Let the ropes go!" Fang screamed above me. "She can't breathe!"

**Good work, Max. **

_Thanks. When we get outta here, maybe I should become an actress. _I thought back trying not to smile.

**Yeah…sure. Anyway, all of our ropes are off. **

_Okay. It's Nudges turn then. _

I heard the scientists walk into the dance room. "You've got to be kidding me," one of the scientists muttered.

"Get everyone else back in their cages," another scientist ordered.

Now it was Nudge's turn.

"NOOOOOO!" Nudge screamed. There were pounding footsteps and someone was sitting next to me, gripping my arm. "You can't make me leave her! She's like my older sister! What if she dies?" Nudge began wailing and I felt water drop on face.

_Maybe Nudge should become the actress._ I thought at Fang.

**It's even more impressive when you can see it. **Fang answered.

"Boss, what do we do? She's crying," one of the scientists whispered. "I can't handle it when girls cry."

"Idiot," the other scientists muttered. "Fine. The girl can come."

"I have to come too then," Iggy said. "She's my eyes."

"What?" The scientist exclaimed.

"I'm blind…or don't you remember screwing up my eyes?" Iggy replied tersely.

"Oh, God! Fine. Blind kid comes too," one the scientists muttered.

"Me too then. It'll be lonely if you send us into the cages without our friends," Gazzy sniffed. "Besides, I'm…I'm afraid of going anywhere without Iggy." Gazzy made more sniffing sounds.

_We have, like, a whole acting troop here. _I commented to Fang.

**He's actually crying. **Fang thought to me in disbelief.

_Impressive. _

"Now he's crying!" the other scientist cried. "My God! If we wait any longer, she really will die!"

"Shit. Fine, they all come!" the other scientist yelled. "You-carry her!"

**So, I'll be picking you up, Max. **Fang informed me.

_Fun for you. _I mumbled in my head.

I felt Fang's arms wrap around my body and I was lifted from the floor.

**You are a lot heavier than you look. **Fang teased.

_Save the jokes for after we escape. _I thought, even though I was amused.

I heard more footsteps and soon Fang began moving. I was like swinging in a hammock.

_Are we leaving? _I asked.

**Yeah. They're leading us out of the dance room. We're heading down the hallway. **

_How many are there?_

**Three scientists and two sharks. **

_We can take them. _I thought confidently.

**Sure we can. **Fang answered. There was a little doubt in his voice but deep down in his gut he was positive we were going to make it out.

Fang's relaxing and even footsteps continued and I was almost lulled to sleep. Almost being the key word since my adrenaline was spiking through my veins because I was about to fight some nasty sharks for my freedom.

**I think we're here. **Fang thought. **There's a heavy wooden door. **

_Yeah. We're here. _I answered, my stomach knotting in anticipation.

"Put her on the desk," the scientist ordered Fang.

I felt Fang relax his arms and he gently set me on the desk.

**One scientist is right over you at 3 o'clock. Another is about six feet away at seven o'clock. The last one is right above you about three feet back at 12 o'clock. The sharks are standing together at the door and 5 o'clock. **

_Got it. Thanks. _

"Call in the doctor. He has the AED. Get Ari too," one of the scientists ordered.

I popped my eyes open and jumped off the desk, swinging a right hook and coming into contact with the scientist's jaw who was standing over me.

Everyone jumped into action after the scientist I punched flopped to the ground. Gazzy jumped on a scientist and pounded on his head while Nudge kicked him repeatedly in the shins.

"Iggy! White coat 10 o'clock!" Nudge yelled at Iggy.

"Thanks!" Iggy called back and he socked a scientist in the nose without even turning to face him.

It was really impressive. I mean, he's blind. It was pretty awesome to watch.

My gaze was taken from Iggy when I heard a crash behind. I looked around. Fang was dealing with two sharks at once. One of the sharks had just thrown him against the wall. I felt pain explode in Fang's ribs.

I rushed over and snapped a side-kick into one of the shark's stomach. The shark staggered back but didn't seem to be all that bothered by my kick.

**Thanks. **Fang thought to me as he hopped up and started grappling with the other shark.

_No problem. I've got your back. _

I jumped at the shark and started throwing as many punches and kicks as I could. None of these sharks could get beat with one shot. I would have to hit him with everything I had in order to knock him out, at least.

I kept punching and kicking the shark- not coming up for air or giving the shark a chance to see an opening. He held up his arms in front of his face in an attempt to block my attacks. He was definitely losing. I had anger and adrenaline on my side…and probably a little PMS.

I punched harder and kicked faster. I noticed with sick satisfaction that with every punch and kick, green shark blood was splattering on my body. If I could have laughed, I would have. Finally, after delivering a particularly intense punch to the shark's temple, he crumpled to the ground.

I stopped.

Breathing hard, I looked around the room. Everyone was watching me.

_You didn't want to help? _I asked Fang putting my hands on my hips.

"You looked like you were having fun," Fang replied.

I thought for a moment then shrugged. It was the truth.

_We don't have much time. Tell everyone to move. _I thought to Fang.

"Guys, scoot," Fang instructed as he waved everyone away from the windows.

With some effort, I picked up Ari's large desk chair and chucked it at the bank of windows. A hole big enough for two people exploded through the windows.

"Impressive," Fang muttered, "Okay, everyone out."

Gazzy tugged at Iggy's hand and helped him through the window as Nudge followed behind. Fang placed his foot on the ledge and waited for me, holding his hand.

My eyes opened wide as a though occurred to me. _Be right back. _I thought.

"Where are you going!" Fang insisted as I dashed out of the office and sprinted down the hall back to the dance room.

I skidded to a halt in front of the middle mirror and shoved it to the side. I entered to costume room and looked around wildly. I didn't see the old grandmother. All I saw were costumes and thread and ribbons and cloth piled high. I started banging on the table with the sewing machine, hoping the old woman would come out.

Finally, I heard the sound of the metal chain rattling on the concrete floor. The old woman appeared before me, looking tired.

"What is it, Max?" She asked somewhat groggily. "What are you doing in here right now?"

I made wild motions trying to get her to understand that she had to come with me. She had to know that I was getting her out of here.

"Max, slow down," she insisted. "My eyes aren't what they used to be."

I took a deep breath in through my nose and grabbed her wrist and tugged her in the direction of the door.

She stopped. "Max, I can't come with you. I'm chained here."

I looked around for a hammer or something I could use to break the chains. I had to get her out. I had promised. She deserved her freedom.

I found a hammer resting next to a mannequin and quickly grabbed it. I bent down over the rope and pulled my hand back.

The old lady caught my wrist. "Max, I'm chained here in more ways than one."

I looked up at her in question. Didn't she want to leave?

"Don't look at me like that," she said sadly. "I can't abandon my grandchild…and I can't abandon the memory of my husband. He started this ballet company, you know. We came here from Europe in 1950 with only a few dollars and a few ballet costumes. My husband and I built this ballet company with our two hands. It was the most prestigious ballet company until he died 12 years ago. I'm 81, Max. I can't leave now. I'm sorry."

I stared at her in disbelief. She didn't want to leave Ari? How could she not? He was terrible. He treated her like trash.

Suddenly, the door to the costume room burst open. I stood up quickly, spun around, and held the hammer up, ready to throw it at whoever it was.

It was Fang.

I lowered the hammer. I was looking forward to chucking it at Ari, so I was a little disappointed.

"Max, we need to go," Fang said quickly. "All the others are out the window waiting for us."

_But, I have to get her out of here! _I insisted.

"Granny, you coming or not?" Fang asked somewhat harshly.

"Not, Nicholas, I'm not coming," the old seamstress smiled at him sadly.

Fang nodded tersely, grabbed my hand, and started for the door.

I tugged my hand from his grasp. _Let me go. I promised her I'd get her out. _

**She said she's not coming! **Fang shouted at me in his head.

"Wait," the old woman called. "Nicholas, here."

We both turned around and saw the old lady holding a small rectangular object out to us.

"What is it?" Fang asked warily.

"A seam ripper," the old woman informed us. "You can use to take the stitches out of Max's lips." Fang nodded again and turned to leave. "You really should stop blaming yourself, Nicholas."

"That's none of your business," Fang snapped. "Besides, it is my fault. Why shouldn't I blame myself?"

The old woman just shook her head sadly.

I looked at her one last time. She really wasn't coming. I held up my hand in a farewell gesture as Fang grabbed my hand again and tugged me after him.

"What were you doing? You could have really screwed up the plan!" Fang lectured as we rushed down the hall back to the office.

_Why do you hate her so much? Why were you so rude to her? It's not like she has a choice. Ari forces her to do stuff. _

**I don't hate her. I just can't look at her. **Fang answered as I felt guilt bubble up inside him. "Never mind," he muttered.

Fang and I burst through the wooden doors into the empty office. Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy were all hovering outside the window.

I looked around the room. Angel was missing.

"Where's Angel?" Fang asked.

"I was about to ask you guys the same thing!" Gazzy shouted. "She ran out after Fang. I assumed she was going to go get you guys!"

"She never came to the sewing room," Fang muttered.

The door squeaked behind and the clicking of dress shoes sounded behind us. Fang and I whirled around. Ari and Angel were standing in the doorway.

**Ok…I'm so sorry that took so long. I'll have another one today, I promise! **

**Hope you liked it, **

**Nightwings93 **


	18. Chapter 18

**Told you I'd have another one up today :)**

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter 16: Max POV:

_The door squeaked behind and the clicking of dress shoes sounded behind us. Fang and I whirled around. Ari and Angel were standing in the doorway. _

"Angel!" Gazzy and Nudge cried from behind me.

"Get away from him, Ange!" Gazzy screamed.

Angel shook her head and slipped her hand into Ari's. "Why should I?" Angel demanded. "Ari is the one who takes care of me. He's the one who warned me about Max and told about Fang's betrayal. He's the one who is the good guy in this. You guys got it all wrong. You should come back inside. Outside the dance academy isn't safe."

Everyone's jaw hit the floor, well accept for mine, since it was sewn shut, but you get the idea. What was Angel saying?

"Angel, they torture us here. How is Ari the good guy?" Iggy demanded angrily.

"If you guys would only let Ari explain, you'd understand that he's only trying to make his grandfather's dream come true and not let his name die," Angel replied calmly.

"What the fuck!" Fang screamed.

We all looked at him in shock. I had never heard Fang yell quite that loud before. He'd raised his voice a few times and snapped at people a few times, but nothing like this.

"Angel," Fang continued, bringing his voice down to a reasonable decibel, "you don't know what you're talking about. He's told you lies. You don't know what his dream is. It's not the dream of his grandfather. It's because he's jealous of my-"

"Shut up, Fang," Angel commanded. "You're just trying to cover up for the fact that you caused all this. You're the one who caused Ari's vision to become something like a horror movie. And, yet, you walk around like you've done nothing."

"Don't talk to me like that until you know that whole truth and not these bastard's lies!" Fang said, his voice shaking with anger.

We were all looking between Fang, Angel, and Ari. None of us but those three knew what they were talking about.

Ari stood in the doorway with a satisfied smirk on his face. He knew what Angel was saying was getting to Fang. He knew that Fang was loosing control of his stone-like appearance.

I grabbed Fang's wrist and tugged him back to the window.

"Should we stop them?" Angel asked looking up at Ari.

Ari shook his head. "They'll be back. Let them taste freedom for a little bit." Ari and Angel turned to leave. "I look forward to seeing you back here again."

Angel and Ari disappeared down the white hallway. Fang watched them leave with murderous eyes.

The second they were out of sight, Fang turned to the bank of windows and punched one of the last windows that hadn't shattered when I threw the chair at them.

A large fist sized hole burst through the window. Blood trickled down Fang's arm.

"Well, that sounded like a really smart thing to do," Iggy muttered. Nudge smacked him on the back.

"Shh," she cautioned. "He's really pissed."

_You idiot! _I shouted at Fang in my head. _We'll fix it later. Just get out. _

Fang glared in my direction but listened to my orders. He stepped through the hole in the windows and snapped his wings open as he flew out into the blue sky.

I followed suit, somewhat less confidently. My wings wobbled and flapped pathetically for a few moments before I got the hang of flying.

I looked down. We were about a hundred feet above the ground. I was hovering in the air. Defying gravity. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to scream. I wanted to make some sort of noise that was now forbidden to me.

I was free. We were all free.

So…now what do we do?

"Where are we going exactly?" Gazzy asked looking around.

"Just follow Fang," Nudge said pointing to Fang's retreating back.

Fang was already a good fifty yards away from us.

We all started flapping frantically and followed after Fang.

Somehow, Fang had managed to lead us to secluded cave in a heavily forested area. The ballet company we had been imprisoned in was surrounded by thick forests. We were basically in the middle of freaking no where with no way of getting out. I wasn't feeling too confident, but Fang seemed to know what he was doing and the others seemed content with following him.

We were all huddled in the small cave; we didn't dare make a fire in case sharks were searching the forest.

Gazzy was sitting in a corner by himself, his head buried in his knees. He had basically just lost his sister. Nudge and Iggy had gone over to try and comfort him, but he didn't want to see anyone. Gazzy wasn't at the point where he could be comforted. His little sister was basically dead to him.

Iggy and Nudge sat quietly together as Nudge whispered the landscape to Iggy.

Fang sat next to me, but he wasn't talking. He had a strong brick wall around his thoughts. He was sitting and brooding over what had been said before we left the ballet academy.

I sat and waited. He would talk to me if he wanted…but, my patience was wearing thin. I couldn't take it anymore. I was going nuts. I hated the silence. I hated sitting still. I was free to move as I wanted and now I was sitting in a cave. Sitting in the same position I would in when I was in a cramped cage.

My brain was going crazy and my chest was constricting. The walls of the cave were closing in. I had to get out. I had to move. I had to be free.

Swiftly, I stood up and left the cave. I immediately felt better as I moved through the woods. I looked up and through the leaves of the trees I could see the midnight blue sky and the twinkling stars.

I inhaled the scent of musky pine and old wood and fresh, spring air. I did a little twirl and smiled up at the sky. I was free.

I lay down in the mossy forest floor and ran my hands through dark green blanket. It felt great to have something other than concrete and metal underneath me.

I heard a twig snap in the distance and I was pulled from my happy thoughts. I sat up and saw a tall, dark figure walking towards me. My heart started racing. Had the sharks found us? I didn't want to go back in a cage. I couldn't go back. I refuse to go back.

"Max?" a familiar voice called out softly.

_Yeah? _I answered tentatively. I wasn't sure if he was still mad.

Fang came closer and stood over me. "What are you doing out here? Are you ditching?"

I shook my head. _I just wanted to get some fresh air. I was going to come back. _

"Oh…good. 'Cause if you left, everyone would be really worried…and probably sad," Fang muttered.

_What about you? _I asked before I could stop myself.

"What about me? I'd regret it if you left…because then I couldn't do this," Fang replied as he knelt down next to me.

I looked at him with apprehension. What was he going to do?

Fang held out the seam ripper. "I think it's time you got to speak, don't you?"

I nodded, happiness bubbling in my stomach.

Fang took the cap off the seam ripper and he brought the small metal hook to me lips. Gently, Fang placed his free hand under my chin and he slowly started to break the thread that held my lips together.

Finally, Fang cut the last strip of thread. "Open your mouth," he ordered softly.

I opened my mouth for the first time in what felt like years.

Slowly, Fang reached in my mouth and grabbed the pieces of thread that were there and softly pulled them out.

"You can talk now, I think," Fang murmured.

I sat there stunned. I wasn't sure what to say. I hadn't been able to talk for so long.

"Thank you," I whispered.

My voice game out a little gruff but it was my voice. I looked up at Fang and smiled a full smile. With teeth showing and everything.

"Good to have you back," Fang said.

"I'm sorry about what Angel said," I muttered hesitantly. I didn't want to upset him again. "I know it really hurt you. I'm sorry, Fang."

Fang shrugged. "She was partially right." I just tilted my head in question. He could tell me if he wanted, but I wasn't going to pry. "It really is my fault. It was all my idea. The wings…" Fang trailed off.

I patted his knee. "It's fine. We can talk about it later." I stood up. "We should get back to the others. They'll be wondering if w ditched them."

"Iggy will accuse us of elopement," Fang replied as he stood up.

I snorted. "I don't know where he comes up with such far-fetched ideas!"

**Is it really so far-fetched? **

I turned and stared at Fang. "What did you say?"

Fang looked taken aback. "You weren't supposed to hear that." With his head down, Fang brushed past me. "Just ignore what it was you heard. It's not how I feel. It was just a thought. I weird thought, too."

"Oh…okay," I mumbled as I walked after Fang, my heart sinking a little.

**Sorry this one was so short…but my hand is cramping…and this is kinda a filler chapter until more stuff happens…you shall see. **

**Hope you liked it! **

**Nightwings93 **


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay…sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've had work and today is one of my days off…yep, me being a genius, I decided to ruin my summer by getting a job. Joy. **

**Anyway, you've been waiting, so let's get on with the story!**

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter 17: Max POV:

Fang and I made it back to our little cave without saying another word after Fang's awkward thought was made known to me. Fang kept his back to me as he walked into the cave and found a place to sit down. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was blushing. But, Fang doesn't blush.

"Where'd you guys go?" Nudge asked. "We thought you guys were maybe ditching us."

"Yeah, right, Nudge. They were just sneaking off to make out for a bit," Iggy sniggered.

"We weren't making out," I snapped.

Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy looked at me in surprise.

"Max! You can, like, TALK!" Nudge exclaimed. "I couldn't see in the dark…but, your lips aren't sewn shut anymore! That's so amazing. It must feel soooooo good to be able to talk now! Does it feel weird? What were your first words? OMG, was it like being a baby and saying your first words again or something? Oh, but you probably don't remember your first words…I wonder why people can't remember their time as a baby. It's kind of like us; we can't remember anything that happened to us before we got locked up in the dance academy with Ari. I wonder why-"

"Nudge, shut up!" Fang interjected somewhat snappishly.

Nudge covered her mouth and looked up at me with apologetic eyes. I just smiled back at her. She hadn't really rambled on like that in a while. She must be feeling pretty good since she's free now.

"I'll be back," I muttered to Iggy, Fang, and Nudge as I looked over at Gazzy. Nudge and Fang nodded, understanding what I was going to try and do.

I walked over to the other side of the cave and plopped down next to Gazzy.

"Hey, Gaz," I said quietly.

Gazzy just looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry about Angel," I muttered, not sure what else to say. I had never had a sibling. But I imagined the pain Gazzy was feeling was similar to the pain I felt when I lost my parents. The pain I was still feeling. I'm sure the pain of losing a loved one never really goes away one hundred percent. "We could always go back and get her," I offered.

Gazzy shook his head. "No, she betrayed us all. I don't want a sister like that. I'm just going to erase her existence from my mind."

"One time, when I was about six, one of the girls at the fighting school I was enrolled at said she was my friend and then went behind my back and told one of deepest secrets to all the other girls. I went home and told my parents that I hated her and that I never wanted to see her again. You wanna know what my dad said?"

"What?" Gazzy asked, sounding skeptical. He was probably wondering where the hell I was going with this.

"My dad told me to hate the sin and not the sinner. He said that there was no excuse for the girl did and that I shouldn't try and let her get away with what she did, but that I only had to hate what she did, not hate her. I didn't really get what he said…but, now I think I do. Angel is in a desperate situation. We all are. However, there is no excuse for betraying her family and friends. We have to hold her accountable when we see her again. But, we should try and hate what she did, not hate her. We should try and forgive her, and, if the situation presents itself, give her a second chance."

"That was pretty deep," Gazzy muttered, smiling slightly.

"I have my moments," I replied.

"It's gonna be hard to do," Gazzy mumbled.

"I know. But if you lead Angel by example and give her your love, I'm sure she'll come back to you," I said patting Gazzy's back.

He nodded. "Thanks, Max. I'll try so that when I see Angel again, we can patch things up."

I nodded. "I have faith in you, Gaz." I stood up and stretched. "Shall we have a family meeting?" I called out to everyone.

Everyone looked up at me and nodded unsurely.

We all got up and made a lopsided circle in the middle of the cave.

"So…" I started, unconsciously taking control, "we should have a game plan. Any ideas, anyone?"

"You mean a game plan besides just following Fang out of this forest?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah, like a plan for after we get out," I replied. "Wait, Fang, you do know how to get us out of here, right?"

Fang nodded. "Before this mess happened, my mom and I used to come here back and forth from our home. I can get us out of here."

I nodded not pressing further. I didn't want to drudge up any painful memories for Fang. "So, is there a home anyone else remembers that they want to go back to?" I asked.

"Parents are dead," Fang muttered.

"I don't remember anything before I came to the dance academy," Nudge said.

"Same here," Iggy replied.

"Me too," Gazzy answered.

"Okay…well, how about once we get out of here, we find a new home? We could all live together. Maybe try and get jobs or something," I offered.

"What about Ari?" Nudge asked. "Shouldn't we at least try and stop him?"

"Um… I think we should. What do you guys think?" I said.

There was collective nodding.

"You think we should expose to the authorities somehow?" I asked.

"I say we torch the place," Iggy said.

"Burn it down?" I asked, imagining the old seamstress being burned alive in her costume room. I couldn't do that to her.

"The cops would never believe us," Fang said. "We have to do it on our own. We can't set up a new life until we get rid of our old one."

"We need to get rid of Ari once and for all," Gazzy muttered. "We'll never be able to live normally if we don't."

"So, what do you think we should do?" I asked mostly looking at Fang.

"I say we get out of the forest, get ourselves equipped with some weapons, come back and take Ari down," Fang said confidently. "After that, maybe we can try and do research on where we all came from."

I nodded, knowing that I already knew where I came from and that I could never go back. If everyone else found their true homes, then I would be alone. I would have to set up life all over again on my own without my new family. I could feel tears prick the back of my eyes but I shoved them down. I couldn't be that selfish. I had had my chance at a normal life. I couldn't take that opportunity away from everyone else. "Sounds like a good plan," I muttered.

"I like it," Iggy said rubbing his hands together. "I'm so making bombs for this occasion."

"You know how to make bombs?" I asked.

"You _don't_ know how to make bombs?" Iggy asked.

"Never mind," I grumbled. "Um…maybe we should try and get some sleep?"

"Someone should take watch though, in case sharks come looking," Fang suggested.

"I can take first watch," I replied. "I'm not very tired."

"Come wake me up in about three hours," Fang told me.

I nodded, got up, walked to the entrance of the cave and sat down. Everyone else made themselves as comfortable as possible on the rocky floor and tried to get to sleep.

I looked up through the leafy canopy out at the starry night sky. I had missed the sight of the sky, especially the night sky. My dad and I used to go star gazing together. We'd hike up the back woods that made up our back yard and get to the top of the hill and sit on a giant bolder and watch as stars winked back at us. My dad could tell me all the constellations and the stories that went with them.

Whenever we went star gazing, he'd also drop some ridiculously sage advice. I learned more about life when we went star gazing than when I was actually in the process of living it. Dad and I had a hard time communicating in the regular day light hours, but when the stars were out, we could talk about anything and everything.

I wondered what my dad would say on this star-filled night.

Would he be proud of me?

Would he tell me I was doing a good job and to keep being brave?

He always told me I was his little fighter. He said that when things in life got tough, not to shy away from it but to meet it head on and grab the proverbial bull by the horns.

I brought my knees up to my chest to keep my aching heart from falling out of my chest. It felt like there was a hole there big enough to let all my insides fall out. I could feel hot tears roll down my cheeks as I saw the faces of my parents reflect back at me in the twinkling stars.

I know I had told Gazzy to hate the sin and not the sinner, but I _hate_ Ari and I want my revenge. I want him to feel what I'm feeling now.

I buried my head in my knees and let the tears flow like river down my face. I had lost my only family and now, I was on the verge of losing my new family. I didn't want us to separate once we got rid of Ari. I didn't want to lose everyone's companionship.

_Stop being selfish, Max. _I ordered myself. Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, Fang, even Angel deserved the chance to have a normal life with loving parents. I was lucky enough to have that for eighteen years. If I held everyone back, I would be just as bad as Ari: selfish and self-centered.

But, being so selfless was painful.

I could feel the hole in my chest getting bigger and the tears were coming down more frequently.

I curled myself into a tighter ball and was wracked with silent sobs.

I couldn't wake the others up. They're tired. It's their first night of freedom, I can't ruin it.

I was still bent over my knees when I felt a hand on my back. I tensed and immediately stopped the flow of tears. I brought my head up and quickly scrubbed the tears away. I looked up and met the gaze of concerned black eyes.

Fang.

I looked down again. I didn't want him to see my face.

"You okay?" Fang asked quietly, his voice laced with concern.

"Yep, fine," I said gruffly, my voice thick with tears.

Fang took his hand off my back and sat down next to me. "You're a horrible liar," Fang muttered.

I turned my face away.

Suddenly, Fang's arms were around, pulling me into his lap. I looked up at him, startled. Just looking at Fang's face brought the next onslaught of tears. I felt the wetness welling up in my eyes. I tried to shove them back so Fang wouldn't see.

He'd already noticed.

He put one of his hands behind my head and gently pushed my head into his chest. It felt like having my head pressed against a rock, but, for once, I was glad for the almost claustrophobic feeling of being protected and closed in. I gripped the front of Fang's hospital gown and let the next wave of tears fall.

I hated that he could see me like this, but I trusted Fang enough to show him my weak side.

Fang didn't try and quiet me. He didn't shush me. He didn't make false promises that everything was going to be all right. He just held me against him and let me cry. He patted my hair and slowly rocked back and forth as I bawled into his shirt front and drenched him with my tears.

Finally, with the mixture of tears, exhaustion, and Fang's comfortable rocking, I fell asleep against Fang.

For the first time I didn't have a nightmare.

I dreamed of me and Fang and a deserted island.

**Ok…I hope you guys liked it ;) the next one will be up soon. I promise. I don't work at all this week. The only thing I have going on is driving. Gotta get my hours in so I can get my license **


	20. Chapter 20

**See? I promised another one soon! I'm actually updating fast again…yay summer. **

**Enjoy, **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter 18: Max POV:

I was dreaming of lying in the sun-soaked sand with Fang next to me when a cold breeze hit me and forced my eyes open. I started to slowly remember where I was as I saw the white fabric in front of me and felt the wetness on the rock-like surface my face was plastered to.

One of Fang's hands was placed securely on my back while the other was resting on my knees. I was still curled up on Fang's lap like some five year old and my hand was still gripping the front of his hospital gown.

My eyes cut over to Fang's hand that was positioned gently on my knees. He was holding something. I squinted in the dark light. It looked like he was holding white rocks.

"What are those?" I asked in a hushed voice.

If Fang was startled that I was awake, he didn't show them. "They're fangs…teeth," he answered.

"Why do you have them?"

"My dad…" Fang paused for a moment. "My dad was like the Crocodile Hunter. An adventurer of sorts. Whenever he came back from his latest excursion, he'd bring me back a fang and give it to me on my birthday."

"You've only got eight though," I muttered.

"Dad only made it through eight of my birthdays," Fang replied quietly.

"Were you and your dad close?" I asked before I could stop myself.

Fang shrugged. "Not really. He was gone a lot. But, whenever he came home and brought a tooth with him, we could always talk. It was like have the tooth there as a conversation started made it easier for him to talk about other things."

I nodded. "That was like me and my dad." I looked up at the sky. "We didn't really talk much…but when we went star gazing, we could talk about anything."

Fang looked up at the sky too. "Is that why you were crying?"

I shrugged. "Partially."

"If you need to talk about it, I'll listen." Fang said. He wasn't prying. He was just offering so I felt safe to tell him. I think Fang is the one person I'm able to trust completely.

"I …I was thinking about the future," I started. "And when I realized that our time together, my time with everyone, was limited, that we wouldn't all be together forever…I panicked. I don't want to have to start over again. I know it's selfish but…I…all of my biological family is dead and I had started to think of everyone as my family. I…I don't want to be alone again."

I could feel tears coming again but this time I was able to push them back. I kept my eyes locked on Fang's shirtfront.

"Max," Fang whispered. "Look at me."

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment to get rid of any tears and then looked up at Fang.

"I'll never leave you," Fang promised. My heart sped up. "Even if everyone else finds a new home, I'll stay with you. I'll be your family, I promise."

"Really?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

Fang nodded.

"Thank you," I murmured. I rested my head against Fang's chest again. "Is it okay if I stay here?" I had no clue what I was saying, but I just felt like I needed to stay. I wanted to stay. Close to Fang. I felt safe.

"Perfectly fine with me," Fang mumbled.

I just nodded slightly and closed my eyes again. Soon, I had drifted off to sleep again.

"Max, oi, Max, get up," Fang's voice said gently as he shook me slightly.

I pushed Fang's hand away. "Five mo' minutes," I grumbled.

"No, seriously, get up," Fang insisted, shaking me a little harder.

"Uggghhhh, fine," I said snappishly as I forced my eyes open. I was still in Fang's lap. I blushed and pushed myself off his legs. "Morning," I muttered.

"I figured you wouldn't want the others to see you in my lap so I woke you up," Fang replied.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," I replied looking down. "Sorry about just now. I'm not much of a morning person."

Fang shrugged. "It's fine."

I just nodded, keeping my eyes on the cave floor. I was super embarrassed. Fang had seen me cry _and _I'd asked to sleep in his lap. What the hell is wrong with me!

"So, by the end of today we should be out of the forest," Fang informed me.

"Cool," I muttered.

"We should probably find a place to set up a temporary home...get clothes and such," Fang advised.

"Yep," I replied.

"Max," Fang said.

"Yeah?" I replied, still looking at the ground.

"Look at me," Fang ordered softly.

Hesitantly, I took my eyes off the floor and looked at Fang. "Yeah?" I whispered.

Fang's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Whoa. Your lips."

"What?" I demanded.

"Sorry, that's not what I planned to say," Fang muttered. "But, uh, we should find something to clean your lips with. They look a little infected."

"Oh," I mumbled, putting my fingers to my lips.

Fang grabbed my hand, "Don't touch," Fang commanded. "It'll make the infection worse."

I nodded.

"So, what I meant to say," Fang started, "was that I don't want you to be embarrassed about what happened last night…I won't tell anyone…and I don't want you to feel like you have to act composed around me. I…want you to come to me when you feel sad or scared or worried. I'll…um…be your strength when you're feeling weak."

I looked over at Fang in mild shock. He cheeks were ever so slightly pink.

_He totally means a relationship of family members…like that of brother and sister. _I told myself. _That's totally what he means. That's why he said all that. _

I didn't get a chance to respond because Iggy started to wake up.

"Morning, Ig," I called, hastily getting up. I was seriously blushing now. Stupid Fang.

"Hey," Iggy replied as he stood up and stretched. "Who else is up?"

"I am," Fang said as he stood up and brushed his legs off. "We should wake the others up," Fang muttered as he walked over to Gazzy.

Using his foot, Iggy tapped Nudge's shoulder. "Nudgey, get up," Iggy said groggily.

Nudgey? I'd never heard anyone call her that before. I smiled slightly. It was cute.

Nudge groaned and finally got up after Iggy prodded her a few times with his foot. "Can't you get me up like a normal person!" Nudge yelled smacking Iggy a few times. Just a hint of a smile was playing on her lips.

"Where's the fun in that?" Iggy demanded.

Nudge rolled her eyes. "I'm rolling my eyes, Ig."

"Okay, guys," Fang called, "we should head out!"

"I'm hungry," Gazzy whined. He seemed a little more chipper than last night, it made me happy.

"If we fly at a good speed and without stopping, we should be out of here in at least four hours," Fang replied. "We'll find food and clothes and a place to stay once we're clear of this place."

I nodded. "Fang's right. We need to get out of here first."

"Fine," Gazzy grumbled.

"We better have a feast when we get out of here," Iggy muttered. "I haven't had a proper meal in Lord knows how long."

"Do you only think about food?" Nudge asked.

"Food and a decent place to go to the bathroom," Iggy replied smirking.

"Oh, that's just nasty," Nudge yelled.

"Okay, guys, shut up," Fang ordered, the corners of his mouth twitching, I was trying not to laugh too. "Ig, go do your business so we can get going."

Iggy and Gazzy exited to the cave for a few minutes then came back.

"I'm about ten pounds lighter," Iggy boasted, patting his belly.

"I don't want to hear it!" Nudge cried covering her ears.

"Can we just leave?" I begged. "Staying here is giving me the willies. What if a shark comes or something?"

"Max is right," Fang agreed. "We need to go, now."

"Y'all are no fun," Iggy whined as he exited the cave again and snapped out his wings.

We all followed suit. We got out of the cave and opened our wings. Taking a few running steps, I launched myself into the air. It was a rocky start and I almost banged into a few trees but I finally managed to level out.

We all hung back as we let Fang take the lead. He flew ahead purposefully and started leading us from our hell…kind of like Moses…only Fang couldn't part water…at least, I didn't think he could.

The longer we flew, the more tired I got and the more I noticed the burning of my lips. Yesterday, I was too happy about the fact that I could talk that I didn't worry about whether or not my lips were infected. Now, with every breath I took, I was reminded that I probably had ugly red puffy lips.

I forced myself not to think. The more I thought about my lips, the more I noticed the pain. The more I thought about how I tired I was, the more my wings ached. I could fly for four hours. I had to…or else I would never be rid of Ari.

I looked over at Fang who was still at the head of our lopsided flying formation. He had set as at a good pace, and he showed no signs of slowing down. I watched in awe as his strong black wings pumped up and down. He made it seem effortless.

The sun glinted off his midnight wings and sent colors of purple and green shooting off in all directions. The white feather at the bottoms of his expansive wings glowed like diamonds. Fang flew like he danced: absolutely gracefully.

I got caught up in watching Fang fly that I didn't even notice when we began our descent.

Fang had led us out of the forest.

A dusty gravel road and miles upon miles of corn fields greeted us. I didn't want to doubt Fang, but it didn't seem like we were any closer to civilization.

**Hope you liked it…some mushy FAX and terrible potty humor for you ;P **

**I know these chapters seem like fillers…but I'm leading up to something…so…yeah…be patient, please!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Well…I'm continuing with the fast updates…YAY…I so need writing right now. Seems to be the only thing going right in my life. Haha. **

**Hope you like this next chapter! **

**Enjoy, **

**Nightwings93**

Chapter 19: Max POV:

I looked out at the cornfields. It was like I had been transported into that one movie, _Signs, _where all those creepy crop circles pop up.

"Uh, Fang," I started, picking up my pace so I could talk to him quietly, "not to sound rude or ungrateful…but, uh, where the hell are we?"

"There's a house a mile down this rode. We can stay there for a bit. A town is nearby too," Fang replied.

"Do you…do you know what State we're in?" I asked.

"Montana," Fang answered.

"Where God left His overshoes," I muttered.

Fang smiled. "Something like that. I think we're near the Arrowhead Mountain or something."

"You're sure about the house?" I pressed.

"Positive," Fang said somewhat gruffly.

I nodded and fell back next to Nudge. Maybe I had annoyed him somehow.

"Where in the hell are we going!" Iggy demanded sourly from behind me.

"There's a house a mile down this road," I replied.

"Oh, so we're on a road?" Iggy asked, sounding angry. "Thanks for telling the blind dude!"

"Oh, shut up Iggy!" Nudge ordered. "We both know that you were able to feel the gravel under your feet." Nudge gave Iggy a look. I couldn't quite describe it. It was a mixture of annoyance and extreme fondness.

"Whatever," Iggy grumbled.

"Iggy, you're about as blind as I am," Gazzy piped up. "You do shit I can't even do!"

"You flatter me," Iggy said sarcastically.

"Children, don't say anything if you can't say anything nice," I ordered.

"I was saying something nice," Gazzy mock whined.

"Fine then, Iggy, shut up," I said.

Iggy threw up his hands in exasperation. "Everyone pick on the blind guy!"

"Well, you're so easy to upset," Nudge pointed out.

"Shut up," Iggy muttered, kicking aimlessly at the gravel. "You guys are so mean."

Nudge patted Iggy's back. "Sorry dear," Nudge said sarcastically.

"So, while you guys were bickering," Fang started, "we made it to the house."

We all tore our eyes from Iggy and looked over at Fang. Behind Fang was a large rickety old farm house that looked like it had been abandoned for years. The blue paint on the house was peeling and the wrap-around porch was caving in and molding with years of rain. The shingles on the roof were falling off and the screen door was hanging off its hinges.

I looked back at Fang. His face reflected the house. He looked as if he was going to fall over any second. His eyes were sunken in like the windows on the house. He sighed slightly and it looked as though all the air was expelled from his body.

"Well, shall we go in?" I asked, walking up to the decaying porch.

I went up the steps as lightly as I could and carefully opened the screen door. I tried the handle on the large wooden door that was painted with a faded butter yellow. At one point, the house must have been a vibrant blue with a cute yellow door. The handle didn't budge. I tried again. The door held firm.

"Let me," Fang muttered from behind me.

I stepped out of the way. Fang walked up to the door and stopped short. He bent down and pulled up the shredded welcome mat. A rusted key rested on the wood.

Fang grabbed the key and opened the door.

"How did you know where the key is?" I demanded.

"Lucky guess," Fang said in a hushed voice as he walked into the house.

The house was full of cobwebs, accentuated by the dim sunlight that filtered through the holes in the roof. Old wooden furniture decorated the house and a large wooden staircase split the house down the middle.

"Rooms are upstairs," Fang murmured. "Kitchen, dining room, living room are on this floor."

"Again, how do you know this?" I asked.

Fang shrugged and walked into the kitchen.

Everyone else filed in before I could squeeze anything else out of Fang. Nudge immediately started describing the house to Iggy and Gazzy followed Fang into the kitchen.

After a few moments, we were all assembled in the kitchen.

"Right…so…you guys must be tired," Fang began as he trailed his hand along the kitchen counter. "So…you guys can go rest, Max and I will go into town and get food and stuff."

"Good plan and all," Iggy started, "but, not to be technical and nit-picky, how are you going to get food without money?"

"Such logic," I replied in awe. "Didn't know you had the brain for it, Ig."

"No need to be rude," Iggy snapped.

"I've got money," Fang cut in.

We all looked at him in disbelief.

"Seriously?" I asked.

Fang nodded. "So, we'll see you guys in a bit." Fang grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the kitchen.

Fang stopped in the hallway and slid back a painting that was covered in cobwebs. A safe was on the other side. Fang quickly punched in a set of numbers on the key pad and opened the safe.

Two stacks of money and a picture were inside.

Fang grabbed the money and started to close the safe.

I stopped him and grabbed the picture before he could react.

A man who looked like an older Fang with a jagged scar running across his face and a little boy who also looked just like Fang were smiling back at me.

Fang quickly tore the picture from my hand and crumpled it.

"Fang," I said, inching forward, "was that you and your dad?" Fang turned his back and walked out of the house. I dashed after him. "Fang!" I called. He walks really fricking fast. "Wait up!" Fang shortened his stride so I could catch up. "Is that your house?" I demanded.

Fang didn't look at me; he just kept walking, clutching the faded dollar bills and the wrinkled photo. "Yeah. That was my house."

"Why did you live so close to the dance academy?" I asked.

"Mom was a principle dancer there when Ari's grandfather still ran the place," Fang answered curtly. "She liked being close to work."

"Oh," I mumbled not sure what to say. "So, um, how far is this town?"

"A good five miles," Fang replied.

"Should we fly then? I'm not a very fast walker," I told Fang, flexing my sore wings.

Fang nodded and snapped open his wings. A few moments later, we were both up in the air flying over the creepy corn stalks.

The town, or at least that's what Fang called it, looked exactly like something out of _Little House on the Prairie. _Seriously, the "store" we went to for food looked exactly like an old-fashioned mercantile.

Fang and I walked in and I felt like I had been transported into an old western movie. First creepy cornstalk movie landscape and now this. Plus, not to mention, I had just come out of a living hell that could only be real in a sci-fi movie.

"We'll just get stuff that's easy to make. Like boxed mac n' cheese and stuff like that," Fang whispered to me. The store gave off the whispering vibe. We were the only customers, and I really didn't want to attract attention seeing as we were in hospital gowns that had some blood on them.

Fang and I were like tornadoes as we piled food item after food item into our little basket. So far, and to our immense luck, the store keeper was still in the back room and hadn't come out to check on us. I guess she figured we wouldn't try and steal anything. Lastly, Fang grabbed a tube of antiseptic and some bandages.

"Okay, let's pay," he muttered as he walked up to the counter. Fang reached out and dinged the small bell.

"Just a minute!" I woman called to us from the back room. There was a sound of crashing metal and breaking glass. "Oh, shit," we hear the woman cuss. "I'll pick it up later…"

Soon, a short woman with vibrant white hair and a ring on every finger came into our view. She looked me over once uncertainly and then looked at Fang. She stopped short.

"Richard?" She asked, her voice breathless.

Fang cleared his throat and shook his head. "That was my dad," he muttered.

"Oh," the old woman laughed uncomfortably, "of course! For a minute there I thought I was seeing a ghost!" She looked Fang up and down. "But what are you doing here Nicholas? I haven't seen you in…gosh…must be…"

"Eleven years, three months, and five days," Fang cut in. I looked at Fang in surprise. He had been living in a cage for over eleven years? Why the hell wasn't he crazy?

The woman's eyes grew wide but she nodded. "Yeah…eleven years sounds about right. Where you been?"

"Staying with relatives," Fang lied.

The woman nodded again, eyeing Fang's clothing. "They part of a cult? What the hell are you wearing?"

"Um…something like that. That's why I ditched. I couldn't take it anymore," Fang muttered.

"You setting up at the old house?" The woman inquired.

Fang nodded.

"Gonna be quite a fixer-upper," the woman cautioned. She looked over at me again. "And, uh, who is this pretty young lady?"

Fang looked back at me in mild surprise, like he'd forgotten I was there. "This is Max. She's, uh…"

"You're girlfriend?" the old woman supplied.

"No," Fang said quickly. My cheeks started feeling hot. "Her, uh, parents were in the cult too," Fang lied. "She wanted out, so we ran off together."

"How romantic," the old woman said wistfully.

"Not really," I grumbled.

The old woman ignored me. "Well, since you've been through such a trying time and you're just back in town, you take everything on the house, dear."

"Mrs. Jamison, I couldn't…" Fang started to protest but the old woman held up her hand to silence him.

"You just take that basket on home with you and come back when you need more," Mrs. Jamison ordered. "Why don't y'all get yourselves down to Mrs. Pratt's and get some clothes. You're bound to attract attention walking around like that."

Fang hoisted the basket off the counter. "We'll be sure to do that, Mrs. Jamison. Thanks."

"No problem, my pleasure Nicholas. You keep out of trouble now!" Mrs. Jamison waved to us as we walked out of the door.

"Will do!" Fang called over his shoulder as we left.

"Does everyone know you here?" I asked.

"Yeah…sort of," Fang muttered. "It's the kind of town where everyone knows everybody."

"So…are you really gonna rebuild you're parents' house?"

Fang shook his head. "We only came here 'cause it's close… but once Ari is gone, we're going as far away as possible."

"We?" I asked, feeling hopeful.

"I said I'd stick around, didn't I?" Fang replied, still not looking at me.

I nodded. "Um…I know it must suck to be here and all, but thank you. Yo do a really good job of taking care of everyone."

Fang shrugged and walked across the street to the small clothing store.

I smiled as I followed. Fang really is a good guy.

**Ok… hope you liked it…in case any of you were wondering, them being in Fang's hometown isn't the giant build up I'm talking about… you'll know the giant build up when you read it. Trust me.**

**I'll update soon! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry it's been so long! Work is keeping me super busy :( **

**Anyway, enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty: Max POV:

Fang and I went into the small clothing store and did some shopping. If you could even call it that. It was more like speed racing. Fang and I grabbed five pairs of pants, ten shirts, four tank tops, six wife-beaters, five jackets, five pairs of shoes, and two packages of socks. We must have looked like some cartoon. Fang held out the shopping basket while I threw article after article of clothing at him.

"Two points!" I muttered as I threw the packages of socks at Fang and they went in the basket.

Fang just rolled his eyes and walked up to the cash register.

We went through another similar scenario as the food store. The old woman running the clothing shop grilled Fang about where he had been for the past eleven years and asked about his parents and relatives…and then the ever awkward question of who the hell I was and why we were in hospital gowns.

Fang kept with whole cult lie. When lying, consistency is key.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Fang whispered to me as we started walking out the building. "The second we hit the back road, we're flying out."

I nodded, feeling like an MI6 spy or something.

Fang and I walked normally down the main road and snuck into the back alley. Holding tight to a few plastic bags each, we snapped our wings open and took off towards home.

I snuck a few glances at Fang while we were flying. He didn't look sad…then again, he didn't look like he was registering any emotions at all. A wood carving shows more facial expressions than Fang. I tried reaching out to his mind, trying to strengthen our connection, but I hadn't heard a single thought from Fang since we were in the forest.

We flew in complete silence all the way back to the crumbling farm house. Fang's crumbling farm house. I watched Fang's face as we walked up the rickety stairs and opened the squeaky door: his face was like a stone mask.

"We're back!" I called as Fang shut the door firmly behind us.

"In the living room!" Nudge answered.

"She's learning to speak in fragments!" I whispered to Fang, hoping to make him smile. "What a proud parent moment."

Fang gave me a ghost of a smirk. I'll take what I can get.

We walked into the living room to find Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy playing a game Monopoly.

"How did you guys get that?" I asked.

"We found it in the basement," Iggy replied.

"Iggy you just landed on St. James' Place," Gazzy said gleefully. "Pay up."

"Son of a bitch," Iggy muttered as he handed Gazzy a twenty.

"Pleasure doing business, sir," Gazzy mocked.

Iggy sat and stewed as Gazzy rolled the dice.

"Oh, by the way," Nudge piped up as she collected money from Gazzy for landing on her railroad, "we already decided the rooms."

"Oh, really?" I asked as I pulled the clothes out of the bags and handed them to everyone.

Nudge took her new shirts and smiled, "Yeah! Gazzy decided to have the single room…I think it was a nursery at one point. There's a single bed and a cradle. You can check it out later. Anywho, Iggy and I are sharing what looks like the guest room…it's so pristine even though this place has been abandoned. It totally looks like it was never used even when people were living here and-"

"Wait, Nudge," I cut in, "are you saying that you and _Iggy _are sharing a room? So that means that _Fang and I _are sharing a room!"

"Told you she wouldn't go for it," Iggy mumbled.

"We gave you guys the master suite!" Nudge smiled as if this made everything okay. "You guys get your own room."

I stared at Nudge. She really didn't get it. I don't think any of them got it. Guys and girls sharing rooms? Worst idea ever! "Why can't you and I share a room?" I asked Nudge, hoping she would get the point.

Nudge stared at me blankly. "Well…it's just that Iggy and I have always shared a cage. It'd be weird if we didn't have each other there when we're falling asleep."

"Plus, Nudge is my eyes," Iggy chimed in.

"And besides, shouldn't you room with the person who knows you best?" Nudge offered. "Iggy and I are, like, best friends. I mean, don't get me wrong, Max! You're awesome…but I've known Iggy longer…and besides, you and Fang are the best fit. You guys seem to know each other really well and get along the best…and you guys shared a cage for awhile. It's only logical, right?"

I looked over at Fang. He seemed unfazed. Was I the only person freaking out?

_Okay, okay, _I thought to myself. _It's not a big deal. It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. It's totally not a big deal. You are not freaking out right now. _

"Right," I muttered. "Only logical."

I grabbed the bags of food and went into the kitchen. I started roughly pulling the food out and slamming them on the counters. Why was I so freaked out? I'd shared a cage with him. I could handle this.

I totally couldn't handle this.

"Out of the kitchen, Max," Iggy's voice commanded behind me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, turning around.

"You can't cook," Iggy stated.

"How do you know?" I demanded.

Iggy smiled. "Lucky guess…you have a "no cooking" aura about you."

"Oh, really?" I questioned, he was totally right. The last time I cooked, I started a fire. "And what makes you so sure you can cook?"

"I know I can't remember anything before the academy…but I'm positive I know how to cook," Iggy replied. He did sound positive.

"Okay, whatever, I can't cook worth shit." I caved.

"Cool, you guys get pasta? I'm thinking spaghetti," Iggy said as he rubbed his hands together.

"Um…yeah looks like it," I answered, sweeping a glance over the food we bought.

"Perfect, now get out," Iggy ordered. "Go check out your room. Fang is already up there."

I nodded and headed for the stairs. Iggy could be so bossy. But, at least one of us knows how to cook.

I gingerly went up the steps, avoiding the spots that looked like they were about the cave in any second. I got to the top safely and looked left and right. Which way to go? Shrugging, I went left. I passed a bathroom and then looked in the room next door, it was the guest room. Nudge was right, it was pristine. There was a light coating of dust on everything but other than that, the whole room looked like it had never been touched. White covers and white drapes reminded me of the white halls of the dance academy. Suddenly, I was glad I wasn't sharing a room with Nudge. I don't think I could have handled all the white.

I kept heading down the hall to the last door. It was either the nursery or the master bedroom. Fifty-fifty chance.

I opened the door to find myself in the nursery. Everything was painted in different shades of blue. Midnight blue to powder blue. There was a cradle in the right corner of the room, a bed in the left corner, and a desk against the wall in the middle. There were LEGOs strewn about the room. It looked like it must have eleven years ago. It almost looked as if this was in use up until the very end.

I bent down and picked up the half-finished LEGO ship.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain and flashing behind my eyes.

_A young Fang, no older than eight year old, was sitting in the middle of his room building something with his new LEGOs that he'd just gotten for his birthday. Dad was away on business and they couldn't afford a nanny, so Fang had to keep himself busy. _

_Fang wished his mom was still around, but he knew she was sleeping and couldn't get back up. At least, that's what dad had told him…but, Fang knew his mom was dead. She had been in a car accident one night coming home late from dance rehearsal. Fang was five years old when it happened. _

_Fang sighed as he remembered how his mom used to play LEGOs with him. He wished he could see her one last time so they could play together again. _

_Fang was adding guns to his ship when the front door downstairs banged open. Fang perked up, dad was home. Fang was about to abandon his LEGOs and go greet his dad when he heard raised voices. _

"_You stay the hell out of my house!" Fang's dad's voice shouted. "And stay the hell away from my son!" _

"_Oh, come on, we both know Angela would have wanted Nick to become a dancer. This is his chance," an oily voice answered. Fang recognized the voice. It sounded like Uncle Ari. Who was Angela? "Besides, Fang gave me the best idea for his mother's favorite play." _

_Fang heard the front door slam again and then footsteps pounding on the stairs. _

_Fang's dad, looking terrified and panicked, burst through Fang's door. "Fang, up! Get up! We have to go," Fang's dad ordered. _

_Fang dropped his toys and held his arms out. His dad scooped him out and started for the window. _

"_Daddy, are we jumping?" Fang asked, fear creeping into his heart. _

"_Don't worry because Daddy can-" _

_The dad's words were cut off as the door to Fang's room blew open. Ari and three strange looking men were on the other side. Fang stared at the men. They reminded him of the pictures of sharks his dad brought home after his last adventure. _

"_Don't bother trying to escape," Ari commanded. He pulled out a gun and shot Fang's dad in the head. _

_Fang's dad's eye flew wide as blood splattered all over the walls and all over Fang. His hands' grip tightened painfully around Fang's small body. Fang watched as his dad's legs buckled and they toppled together to the floor. _

_Fang hit his head on the ground and felt his whole body shut down. Now his dad was dead, too. His parents had left them behind. He was alone in the world._

When the memories stopped whirling in my mom, I opened my eyes and I was crumpled on the floor, sobbing, with the LEGO ship clutched tightly in my hand.

The door to Fang's room opened and I shrank back, half expecting it to be Ari with sharks.

"Max?" Fang's voice echoed in my ears.

My head snapped up, tears splattering on the blue carpet. "Fang!" I cried as I launched myself off the floor and into his arms.

Fang staggered back and stayed frozen for a moment. Slowly, his arms went around my waist. "What the hell?" I heard him mutter as I sobbed into his chest.

I didn't know why I was so emotional. It was almost as if I was feeling Fang's feelings from when he was a scared eight year old boy. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I blubbered over and over again.

Fang started rubbing my back. "It's fine. It's all gonna be okay." Poor guy was probably really confused.

Finally, after a few moments of hysterical crying, Fang got me to calm down. He pried the LEGO ship out of my hand and started slowly walking me out of the room. Fang led me down the hall to the door on the opposite end from the nursery.

"Maybe you should lie down for a bit," Fang offered as we entered the master suite.

Even though I was a crying mess, I was still struck by the wild beauty of the room. All the furniture was made of bamboo and there were plants everywhere. They were dead now, but at one point they must have been breath-taking. The room was painted a coffee brown with one wall coated in a spice orange.

I collapsed onto the bed and dust flew into the air. I sat up quickly, coughing. It helped get my senses back. Fang sat down slowly next to me.

"So, um, what the hell?" Fang asked.

I took a deep breath in. "I … I don't really know. I picked up the LEGO and I suddenly had a flashback to one of _your _memories."

"Which memory?" Fang said quickly, his face looking slightly panicked.

"The memory about how you were taken by Ari and saw…saw you dad get shot," my voice grew quieter as I kept talking.

"Oh," Fang's face relaxed slightly.

"Why did it happen?" I asked.

Fang shrugged. "Probably because of our connection."

I nodded dumbly, my eyes tingling from crying. "I'm sorry you had to watch you dad die Fang…I, um-"

"It's fine," Fang said curtly, getting up from the bed. "it's in the past."

"Oh…okay," I mumbled.

"And don't go touching stuff…in case it happens again," Fang instructed. "You, um, don't need to be burdened with my memories."

"Hey, Fang," I asked as he started to walk out of the room, "why was your dad going to jump out the window? The fall could have killed you both."

Fang froze, his face looking panicked again. "He probably thought us dying was better than the life Ari was going to force me into," Fang replied, his voice sounding deeper than normal. "Dinner's ready."

Fang closed the door behind him and left me wondering. What was Fang hiding in his past?

**Okay…so sorry that took so loooooong! My summer has ended up being busier than my school year! **

**Hope you liked it. Next chapter coming soon! **

**Nightwinsg93 **


	23. Chapter 23

**Wow…okay…I don't even know where to begin. Um…sorry this has taken a REALLY long time. Really long time doesn't even cover it…it's been, like, a year and half almost since I updated. CRAZY! I was considering shutting down my fanfic account and stuff and stopping this story and a friend asked me the other day, what ever happened to that awesomely creepy fic you were writing about ballet and stuff? And so I thought…maybe I should update check out my account and see what's up with it. And, to my surprise, people are still reading my fics and still begging me to update. So, here it is. I am continuing my fic. I have completed a real novel that I am in the process of editing and getting published but I missed fanfiction, I really did. **

**Okay, you guys have been waiting long enough. Here is the story! **

**Enjoy, **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-One: Max POV:

I sat on the dusty bed in a stupor for several moments before standing and following Fang downstairs. What was he hiding? What was so terrible about his past? Even though Fang had been blocking our connection since the forest, I was still able to sense the overwhelming guilt that emanated from him whenever we mentioned his past.

I shook my head. It wasn't my place to pry. I picked my way down the rickety stairs and made my way into the dining room. Something smelled like heaven.

"OH MY GOD, IGGY!" Nudge yelled as I walked into the dining room. The large wooden table had been dusted and set with spice orange placemats. There was an empty seat next to Nudge and an empty seat at the head of the table. I figured Nudge would want to sit next to Iggy. I looked over at Fang.

"Don't you want the head?" I asked.

"No," he muttered. He was sitting next to Gazzy.

"Okay…" I had the feeling Fang didn't want to sit anywhere near me. Had I pissed him off? I hadn't meant to see into his past. I hadn't meant to pry, but my curiosity had gotten the better of me. I plunked down in the seat at the front of the table and suppressed a sigh.

"This smells so good!" Nudge exclaimed. Iggy walked in with steaming plates of pasta. "It looks even better! How did you manage to make that from the stuff Fang and Max bought? No offense guys, but it didn't exactly look like you bought gourmet food…"

Nudge trailed off as Iggy placed a plate of pasta in front of her. "Tuck in guys," Iggy said proudly when all of us had food in front of us.

Iggy had managed to whip up some sort of amazing alfredo sauce with a side of cooked carrots and green beans. It was the most delicious thing I remembered tasting in a long time. "Iggy," I started around a mouthful of pasta, "this is so good."

"Yeah, I know," Iggy replied.

"Such modesty," I grumbled.

"I am loving this cream sauce, Ig. What is it? How did you do it? No, don't tell me. I'm going to figure out what it is." Nudge scrunched up her face. "There's…um…there's…cheese? And…oh I give up!"

"You guys don't want to know what's in this sauce," Iggy warned.

"Why not? What did you do to it?" Gazzy demanded. He put down his fork.

"No, there's nothing bad in it…it's just, Fang and Max didn't buy any quality ingredients. As a master chef, I'm ashamed to serve such processed food to my customers." Iggy looked wounded.

Fang snorted. "Master chef."

"It still tastes wonderful even if it's not 'quality' food," I said. "Maybe next time you can go shopping for food, Iggy. Since you seem to know what's best when it comes to food."

"There won't be a next time," Fang said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Nudge asked.

"We won't be here long enough to go on another shopping trip. We need to get rid of Ari in a week, two weeks tops," Fang answered curtly.

"I like this house," Nudge muttered. "I think we should just stay here. I mean, it's out of the way and no one will know we're here…and, it's like that one movie right? 'The closer we are to danger the father we are from harm.' I think we should just stay here even after we get rid of Ari. I mean-"

"NO!" Fang slammed his hand down on the table. He stood up so quickly the chair he was sitting in flew back and clattered to the floor. Everyone stopped and stared at Fang. Nudge even looked as though she was about to cry. Fang threw down his napkin. "Thanks for dinner," Fang grumbled as he stalked up to the room we were sharing.

"Um…what the hell was that?" Iggy asked after we heard Fang's foot leave the last creaking stair.

"I…I made him mad," Nudge sniffled. "He's never yelled at me like that before." Her eyes shone with tears.

I reached over and patted her hand. "It's okay…I think he's just exhausted so it's getting the better of him." I couldn't tell them that this was his house. That was for Fang to tell them.

"Yeah…but it's Fang," Gazzy muttered. "Nothing ever gets the best of him, y'know?"

I sighed. "Yeah…"

"Well?" Iggy insisted.

"Well what?" I countered.

"Aren't you gonna go talk to him?" Nudge asked.

"Why me?" I demanded. "You guys have known him longer."

"He only seems to talk to you about stuff," Iggy replied.

I sighed again. I didn't want to go try and counsel Fang…but at the same time I was terribly curious: why was he so touchy? I understand it must be painful for him to be in his childhood home…but he was particularly prickly when it came to his past. Why was he the only one who remembered his past? Was Ari using it as some way to torment him? Why didn't he want me touching his things…what was he so worried I would see? "Alright," I muttered and I scooted back from the table. I grabbed my plate of pasta and Fang's. "He may be angry, but there's no way he isn't hungry for this stuff." I started walking towards the hallway. "Dinner was great Ig. Thanks," I threw over my shoulder as I ascended the stairs.

I reached the door to the master bedroom. I tried the handle as I balanced the two plates on my left arm. The door popped open easily. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. At least he hadn't locked the door. He couldn't be that mad then. I stuck my head and looked from side to side. Fang wasn't in the room. I padded into the room and set the plates of pasta on the night stand. I could hear the sound of gushing water coming from the other side of the closed bathroom door. I hesitated. He could be taking a shower. He was probably taking a shower. I should just wait for him to come back out. There was no hurry. I didn't need to talk to him right away…but…the pasta would get cold. No one likes to eat cold pasta. And, who knows if the microwave downstairs still works.

Against all my better judgment, I walked over to the bathroom room and tapped on the stained wood. "Fang?" I called in a timid voice that didn't seem to be my own. "Fang?" I called somewhat louder.

No answer.

I inhaled sharply. "Fang…I'm coming in." I squeezed my eyes shut and burst through the door. I stood still with my hand glued to the door-knob for a few moments before I started to uncurl my fingers and slowly open my eyes.

Fang was sitting in the bathtub fully clothed with the shower head raining rusty water over his body. His head was bowed so his dark hair was hanging over his face, the edges curling because of the water. His dark jeans that we had just bought were contoured to his muscular legs and the white wife-beater was see-through and stuck to his ropey upper body. His wings were stuffed back against the tub wall. Water droplets made it looked as though they had been imbedded with crystals. In one hand, he held the toy LEGO ship and the other hand was curled so tightly around something that there were rivulets of blood trickling down his wrist.

I didn't move. I couldn't move. I was captivated and held in place by this pitiful yet oddly beautiful scene.

I shook my head. I owed it to Fang to snap him out of whatever little trance he was in. Tearing my gaze from him, I reached for the handle in the shower and turned the water off.

Fang still didn't move. It was as though he was completely unaware of my presence.

I tried to reach out with my mind and find the connection that I knew was there hiding. Fang had it securely blocked. When I tried to reach out for Fang's mind, it was like hitting a brick wall.

I crouched next to the tub. "Fang?" I said softly. "Fang, snap out of it." I gently grabbed his wrist, the one that had blood dripping down it. "I brought some more pasta with me. There's no way you're not hungry."

Fang made no reply. He just squeezed the hands into tighter fists. The blood running down his arm increased.

I could feel anger bubbling inside of me. He was acting like spoiled little kid. But…then again…Fang has never acted like a child before. He's never been allowed to. He's always been a father to the other kids in the flock. He's had no one take care of him. No one to tell him that everything will be all right. No one to pick up the slack when he wanted to be at least a little bit selfish.

I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

I pushed Fang's hair away from his face and then immediately regretted it. His face was crumpled. His eyes looked like burning torches of pain. It was the worst sort of expression a person could have. It was somewhere between crushing guilt and extreme hatred. I hadn't been prepared for this sort of face. Not from Fang. I was frozen for a moment as I thought of what to do. What could I do for him? He looked as though he was broken far beyond repair. Could I fix him? Would he ever smile again? Laugh?

Not knowing what else to do, I leapt into the tub and crouched in front of Fang. Grabbing his shoulder and the back of his neck, I brought him forward so his face was buried in the crook of my neck. He didn't resist. He was like a dead weight. It wasn't until he had been lying on my shoulder for several minutes did I notice that he was shaking. They were very slight and at first I thought I was imagining it, but Fang was definitely trembling.

I had to say something. "You know everyone in this house loves you…no matter what. We're family. We're here for you. You don't need to take every burden on your shoulders." The barrier around Fang's mind faltered for a moment. I was crushed by the weight of his guilt. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not your fault. We'll still love you whatever it is."

"That's because you don't know," Fang replied softly, his breath tickling my neck.

"Don't know what?" I asked.

"You'd hate me if I told you," Fang murmured. "I'm responsible for what's happened to you. For what's happened to everyone. You, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Daphne…" Fang trailed off.

Daphne. Who was Daphne? "Fang…it's not your fault. What's happened to us, that's all Ari and his twisted fantasy." I was dying to know who Daphne was.

Fang shook his head and pushed away from me. His face was more composed now. In fact, it was almost worse than before. Now, his face was completely dead. "I'm the one who gave my uncle the idea."

"Uncle?" Then I thought about the memory I had seen when I'd picked up Fang's LEGO. Ari was his uncle…somehow.

"Mom's brother," Fang clarified. Fang looked down at his bleeding hand and uncurled his fingers. The eight fangs that his father had given him were embedded in his skin. "I shouldn't have told our secret," he whispered. It was almost more like he was whispering to the teeth, not to me.

I grabbed Fang's bleeding hand. "It's not your fault," I insisted.

There was a ghost of a sad smile on Fang's face. "How about some pasta? I'm starving."

"Fang-" before I could finish, Fang shook his hand free of mine and left the tub.

"Don't talk to anyone about this," Fang advised as he dropped the LEGO ship on the bathroom counter. "There should be some pajama bottoms in the dresser that's across from the bed. Can you grab me some?"

Resisting the urge to yell at Fang, I stood and stalked out of the bathroom. My butt was wet.

I yanked the top drawer of the dresser open and grabbed a pair of dark blue plaid flannel pajamas. We should have thought to buy pajamas while we were clothes shopping.

"There should be sets of pajamas in all the rooms. Everyone else will manage," Fang called to me. Was he in my head? "I can't read your thoughts. It just seems like something you would worry about."

I shoved the flannel pajamas through the bathroom door. "Here," I muttered.

"There should be some pajamas more your size in the drawer below," Fang informed me.

"Do you really want me wearing your…mom's…pajamas?" I asked. I felt as though I was intruding somehow.

There was a pause on Fang's side of the door. "…Yes…if it's you, it's fine."

I was slightly taken aback by Fang's words. What did he mean by them? Shaking my head, I walked back to the dresser and opened the second drawer. I inwardly groaned. There was some very fancy lingerie among the normal pajamas. Picking past the more…festive…undergarments, I grabbed a grey jersey tank-top and a pair of green and red flannel sleep shorts.

"Can I come out?" Fang asked from his side of the bathroom door.

"Yeah," I called back as I laid my damp jeans over the edge of the bed's railing.

The door creaked as Fang stepped out of the bathroom. My breath involuntarily caught in my throat. Fang was wearing the long, dark blue flannel pajama pants but had failed to put on the matching shirt. I cocked my eyebrow.

"I get hot when I sleep," Fang supplied as he shrugged. I just nodded and handed Fang a plate of pasta. He took it and gave me a ghost of a smile. Fang sat on the edge of the bed. He motioned for me to sit by him. "You must be hungry too."

I shrugged and sat beside Fang with my plate of pasta. "Iggy is a really good cook."

"I really screwed up dinner," Fang muttered.

"Yeah…just a little," I replied.

Fang gave me another small smile. "Not going to go easy on me even a little?"

"You can handle it." I paused as I shoveled some pasta in my mouth. "Besides, you're allowed your little freak-outs once in a while. You're pretty comatose most of the time."

"Well, thank you for the allowance," Fang said in mock gratitude.

"My pleasure."

Fang and I ate in silence for a few moments. I couldn't help but sneak the occasional glance over at Fang's exposed chest. I was staring at Fang when he suddenly turned to me. I whipped my head in the other direction. There was an awkward pause before Fang cleared his throat and asked, "So…what was your life like before you ended up at the dance academy?"

"Ugh," I spluttered around my mouthful of pasta. I gulped it down. I wasn't quite sure what to say. I hadn't thought anyone would want to know about my past. "Um…it was nice."

"Yeah…what was your family like?" Fang asked.

"Uh…my mom, well she was a stay at home mom. At least, she became a stay at home mom when I was about four or so. Before that, she used to work somewhere far away and she'd go on business trips and be gone for days at a time. I'm not actually sure what her job was…Anyway, she home-tutored me. Now, I guess I understand why my parents never wanted me to leave the house. My mom was my best friend. We did everything together. She taught me how to sew, actually, and we'd do a lot of sewing projects together. We could talk about anything. She…she, um," I cleared my throat. I could feel my throat closing up.

"What about your dad?"

"My dad…he worked pretty far away…we lived in the boonies, he wasn't home very much. We could get along when we would spar…he always came to fighting classes with me. He would also always drop little pearls of wisdom when we went star gazing together." I stopped. I was starting to think of my dad's head blown apart by Ari's gun. I could see his dead, empty eyes staring blankly at me as his body hit the floor. I could feel the pool of blood start swirl around my ankles.

"They sound pretty cool," Fang muttered. "What were you gonna do for college?"

"Uh…I hadn't actually thought of that…" I whispered.

"Job?"

"I always figured I could just work as a fighting instructor…or something," I replied. "What about you?"

"You mean aside from getting out of the cage and exacting revenge on Ari?" Fang raised an eyebrow.

"Um…yeah," I said feeling stupid.

"Hadn't really thought much beyond that." Fang shrugged.

I wanted to smack myself. Of course if you've spent most of your life in a cage, you wouldn't be too concerned with going to college or getting a good job; you're too busy hoping you'll make it to the next day. "I sort of screwed things up a bit didn't I?"

"What?"

"I mean…not that what you guys had before could be called a life…but, at least you knew what you were doing and what to expect. I came in and screwed everything up. Now you guys actually have to find a way to live in society… and, honestly, I think that might be even scarier than living out your days in a cage." I looked down at my empty pasta plate. I had completely uprooted them. I had acted like some high and mighty savior…but, I actually made things worse for them. I've dangled freedom in front of them, they've tasted it, and I haven't bothered to help give them any tools to maintain it. How were they going to survive? How was I? I squeezed the plate so hard I thought it would crack.

Fang's plate rattled as he placed it roughly on the night stand. "How can you say that?" I looked up at Fang. He was glaring at me. "Sure, it's going to be tough. It's not exactly like there are job openings for people with wings…but, my dad managed to make it so-"

"Your dad?" I tilted my head to the side in question.

"I mean, my parents, your parents, all our parents, they managed to start from the ground and work their ways up. It's not going to be easy…but, we're going to figure this out. Together."

I looked down at my hands. I didn't know what to say. It was a scary thought: the blind leading the blind, the five of us stumbling about life trying to navigate all its complexities without some sort of mentor guiding us.

I looked up at Fang. We locked eyes. After a moment of severe silence, we both gave an awkward chuckle.

"Maybe we should go to bed," I advised. "There's too much to think about right now." Fang nodded. "I'll go put the plates back in the kitchen."

"I'll try and dust the bed off," Fang muttered as I left the room.

With shaking hands, I put the dishes in the sink. I took several deep breaths. It was no big deal. We would figure our lives out…everything would be fine.

I stopped when I reached the stairs again. More than trying to figure out what our lives would be like, the thought of sharing a bed with Fang was scaring me even worse.

**Ok…** **so I hope this chapter was long enough for you. I'm going to be updating another chapter as fast as I can. In fact, I'm going to save this document and start the next chapter now. **

**Sorry this took so long. **

**Nightwings93**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ok…nest chapter, wasting no time! I swear, I'm finishing this Fic. I need to. It's terrible I've made you guys wait this time. **

**Enjoy! **

**Nighwings93**

Chapter Twenty-Two: Max POV:

I was about to tell myself to stop being such a baby and just walk up the damn stairs when I heard giggling coming from the living room. It was definitely Nudge. Thankful for the distraction, I spun on my heel and crept to the living room. I poked my head around the door frame. Iggy and Nudge were cuddled on the dusty couch. Iggy was running his hands through Nudge's unruly hair while she played with the front of his shirt.

"What do you think will happen?" Nudge whispered.

"Max will probably make him sleep on the floor…or in the bathtub," Iggy replied snickering.

Nudge giggled then quickly sobered. "No! She can't do that. They get along so well. It's like they were made for each other."

Iggy let out an unconvinced snort. "Yes, they're soul mates and it just so happened that fate brought Max into our miserable lives so she and Fang could get married and live happily ever after."

Nudge playfully hit Iggy on the chest. "Don't be so skeptical." She snuggled closer. "Isn't that how it happened with us?"

"Aside from the marriage part…" Iggy looked as though he was about to something but stopped himself. "Yes."

Nudge smiled up at Iggy. "Besides, Fang deserves someone…especially after Daphne. That just wasn't fair…"

My curiosity got the better of me. I had told myself I would just observe and not make a sound, but at the mention of Daphne, I ran into the room and asked, "Who is this Daphne girl anyway?"

Iggy was so startled by my appearance that he shot out of the couch. Nudge ended up on the floor. "OUCH! Ig, watch it." She rubbed her butt.

"Yeah, 'cause the blind guy can 'watch it,'" he turned back to me, his face turning red. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Never mind that. Who's Daphne?" I took a few steps forward, my body eager for the knowledge. Had she been Fang's girlfriend or something?

Nudge stood up. "Daphne came probably a year or so ago. She didn't last very long, either. She must have been with us…what…two weeks tops? Yeah…she didn't last very long at all. She was odd too. She came with wings already. It was like they had given her wings, kept her to make sure she was strong enough, and then sent her to our room. But, it wasn't just that. Her personality was weird. She was very mean. Snappish. She was down-right cruel to Angel. The only person she was nice to was Fang. But, she was, like, creepily nice. She doted on him. Followed him around. Clung to him. She got really possessive too. And poor Fang couldn't stand her. It was like she was his stalker…even though we were all in the same room all the time." Iggy clamped his hand over Nudge's mouth before she could go on.

"She was a pain in the ass. Needless to say, I think she scared Fang off of girls for a while. I think he was really freaked out when you first came. He was worried about another Daphne scenario," Iggy filled in.

"Oh," I muttered as something in me relaxed. "What did she look like?"

Nudge pried Iggy's hand from her face. "Pinched. Her face was tight and pinched. She definitely wasn't as pretty as you…she had blonde hair…and, uh, hazel eyes." Nudge smiled suddenly. "Shouldn't you get to bed?" She eyed the sleep shorts and tank top I was wearing.

I blushed. I could feel it and cursed myself for it. "Um…yeah…shouldn't you guys?"

"We will in a bit," Iggy replied.

"O…Okay," I turned to leave. "Is Gaz in bed already?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't bother him though. I think he's still processing everything that happened with Angel," Iggy said. I could see from the corner of my eye that he had grabbed Nudge's hand.

"Alright. Um, good night." I started to leave. "Oh, yeah, Nudge. You know that Fang didn't mean to yell at you like that, right?"

Nudge smiled. "Yeah, I know. I was just a little surprised. But, Fang is so patient and all. He never gets mad at any of us. He's entitled to freak out every once in a while."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Anyway, good night." I exited the living room.

"Hey, Nudge?" Iggy asked

"Hmm?"

"Will you describe what it looked like when we were flying again?"

"Yeah, let's see…the sky was the most amazing color. It looked like…"

I left before I could hear Nudge's explanation. It was for Iggy to hear and enjoy. I smiled to myself. They were cute together. They made sense together…not like me and Fang, we couldn't possibly make sense as a couple. Not that I would know though, I had never had even the ghost of a relationship.

My thoughts turned to Daphne as I walked down the long hallway to the master bedroom. The hall seemed longer than before.

I almost couldn't believe Nudge's story about the Daphne girl. Who could get so attached and possessive in less than two weeks? Poor Fang…it must have been a nightmare. He's the type to hate people who cling, but I'm sure his protective and sweet nature wouldn't have allowed him to tell her to piss off. It just doesn't seem like something he would be able to say.

I reached the door to room Fang and I were sharing. My heart started to pound in my chest. Tentatively, I pushed my consciousness out and tried to make a connection to Fang. His mind was closed and protected by a wall. I sighed. I would never know if Fang was as nervous as I was.

Swallowing hard and taking one last deep breath, I opened the door to the room. Fang was sitting on the right side of the bed, the covers drawn back. The thin layer of dust that had blanketed the bed was gone. Fang smiled at me as I closed the door behind me.

"Ready for bed?" he asked.

I nodded then found my voice. "Nudge and Iggy are about to head up to bed…and Gazzy was already asleep."

Fang nodded, a slight shadow passing across his face when I mentioned Gazzy. "He's not taking things with Angel so well."

I shook my head. "Doesn't seem like it."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Fang muttered.

I sat on the left side of the bed. "You can't stay up all night. You need to sleep. You're finally in a bed."

"I don't know how much sleep I'll get in this bed." Fang plucked at the sheets. "This used to be my parents'."

"Would it be better if we traded rooms with Nudge and Iggy?" I inwardly shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the all white guest room. I had had my fill of white.

Fang shook his head. "No matter where we are, it's going to be rough to sleep in this house."

I nodded. I wanted to hold his hand…but I didn't want him to think I was clinging. "Yeah…but you really need to sleep. I mean, you can't protect them all the time. And, besides, if you always look out for them and never yourself, one day you won't be well enough to save them when they really need you. Pick your battles. Let Gazzy deal with this on his own. If he doesn't, he won't know how to cope and deal with this kind of stuff on his own."

"You think it's better to let people have painful memories?" Fang asked.

"Of course. We learn from them. I wouldn't want any of my memories taken away. You can't have the good without the bad. Even bad memories are precious." I looked over at Fang. He looked like I had slapped him. Then, as quickly as it had come, his face was completely composed again in the blink of an eye.

"Really. What a fool I am," Fang whispered more to himself than to me.

I tapped Fang's knee. "How about we go to bed? Maybe things will be clearer in the morning." I had no idea what he was talking about.

Fang nodded brusquely and leaned forward and brought the covers up towards our chins. At the same time, we turned and looked at one another. "'Night," Fang muttered.

"Good night."

The two of us stayed frozen, our eyes locked. I couldn't look away. I could feel Fang's body-heat radiating towards me from under the blankets. My brain was like a TV with a bad case of static. I had gathered up almost enough courage to break eye contact when Fang suddenly moved forward. Everything happened too fast for me to even react. Fang's arm shot out and his hand curled around my neck. Gently, but with firm purpose, he brought my face towards his.

His lips were soft against mine. It was a tender and gentle kiss but there was an urgency and hardness to it. I could feel the heat from Fang's body surging through me the longer his lips were attached to mine. I melted. My head tilted to the side and my body involuntarily leaned into Fang.

Fang's other hand gripped my waist and pulled me closer. I snaked my arms around his neck. My brain was giving out. I was about to lean in even more when I realized something: I was clinging.

This couldn't happen. Fang and I were meant to be like family. This isn't something family does. This would mess everything up.

I wanted to pull away but Fang's grip was too tight.

I couldn't let this happen. It would end badly. I knew it would. I was struck by the thought I had had when I first went to the dance academy: why love something when it gets taken away. I would get attached to Fang and then he would be taken away.

This couldn't happen.

I unwrapped my arms from around Fang's neck and slipped them down to his chest. I wanted to cling to him but I knew I couldn't. I braced my arms against Fang and pushed him away as I snapped my head to the side.

Fang, now an arm's length away, didn't move. We stared at each other breathing hard. My hands were trembling slightly where they rested over Fang's heart. I could feel it hammering underneath his skin.

Quickly, before I lost my nerve, I detached my hands from Fang's body and turned away. I rolled on my side so I was facing the wall, my fingers tracing my lips. "Good night, Fang," I said more harshly than I wanted.

_You can't tell. It's a secret. Dad would be furious if you told. It's none of Ari's business anyway. Don't tell him. Don't. _

"_Come on, tell me. Tell your Uncle Ari. You won't get in trouble. What's the secret?" _

_Don't tell. Don't open your mouth. You can't. Don't tell. _

"_Tell me! It's alright! JUST TELL ME!" _

_No! Don't tell him. You can't. It's not your secret to give. If you tell…it would be worse than death. _

_There was a tight gripping sensation on my shoulder. Someone's breath on my face. "You remember your great-grandpa? The one who left your grandpa, my dad, the dance academy? Well, now your grandpa's dead…and he left the studio to me. He said that there was something your dad had that he wanted his dancers to have. You can make grandpa's dream come true. Tell me the secret."_

_Don't open your mouth! "Okay…I'll tell you."_

I woke with a start but something kept me tethered to the bed. In a panicked moment, I thought I was back at the academy, strapped to the operation table. I blinked and looked around me. I was still in the exotic looking room that had belonged to Fang's parents. I realized- to my horror- that my head was resting on Fang's chest which was rising and falling steadily. Fang's arms were wrapped firmly around my waist. How had we ended up like this? Had I clung to him in my sleep? I tried to move away but Fang was like a dead weight.

I looked up at his face. He looked like a painting he was so beautiful. Pieces of his midnight hair were laying in soft tendrils on his forehead and cheeks. His face looked healthy. There as color in it. His cheekbones weren't quite so startlingly prominent as before; he was less gaunt. The permanent bruises of tiredness that were usually under his eyes were gone.

I wanted to reach up and stroke the curvatures of his face: the strong line of his jaw, the sharp edge of his nose, his soft lips…lips that had been on mine. I put my hand to my lips. I could feel small bumps all along my mouth. I was still healing from the stitches. How had Fang been able to kiss me? It must have felt awful. I was repulsive. I was hideous. How had he done it? Why had he done it?

I looked back at Fang. How could someone so beautiful be even remotely attracted to me?

Fang's eyebrows started to twitch and the permanent line of anger began to appear between his eyes. As he slowly woke up, the openness of his face and the vulnerability that had been there started to disappear.

My breath quickened. What would he do when he woke up? Would he freak out? Would he be angry? Would he regret kissing me? Not knowing what else to do, I laid my head back down on his chest and closed my eyes.

Fang's muscles tensed as he woke up. I could feel his heartbeat quicken underneath me. Fang didn't move. He didn't say anything. I waited. Any moment now he'll shove me off…I know he will.

"Hey, Max," Fang said softly.

I opened my eyes and looked up at Fang. My shock wasn't fake. Why hadn't he told me to get off yet? I pushed myself away from Fang and sat up quickly. "Oh…morning."

A shadow passed over Fang's face; I only caught a glimpse of it. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah…you?" I looked down at my hands.

"Like a rock," Fang replied.

"You didn't have any weird dreams?" Snippets of the conversation I'd heard I my head this morning came back to me.

"No," Fang answered looking puzzled.

"Oh." I must have somehow taken Fang's dream. I had dreamed for him. In a way, I was glad. It was good he finally got to sleep and relax a little bit.

"So…Max, about last night-"

"I'm going to take a bath" I cut in as I hopped off the bed. I rushed into the bathroom, slammed and locked the door behind me. I pressed my body against the door and looked into the mirror. My face wasn't as pale as the last time I looked in a mirror. My hair wasn't caked in blood anymore and the permanent layer of sweat was no longer visible on my face. I was still gaunt. My cheeks sunk in. My eyes still looked too big for my face. And my lips…my lips…they were hideous. They were bright red and chapped from flying. Little scabs and bumps were lining my mouth. I could still see little holes where Ari's grandmother had inserted the needle when she had sewn my mouth shut.

I turned away from the mirror in disgust. I felt sorry for Fang. Not only did he have to put up with seeing my face, but he kissed me as well.

I roughly turned the faucet on in the bathtub and let the water run until the rust disappeared and it was clear. I peeled off the clothes I was wearing and shook out my wings as I lowered myself into the steaming tub water. As the water touched my back, pain shot through my body. I stood quickly and checked my back in the mirror.

I retched. The rings of the corset that had been sewn into my back were rusting and pulling at my skin which was puffy and red with puss oozing out. I wanted to scream. Ari had ruined me. I had white wings sticking out of my shoulder blades, a corset imbedded in my infected back, and healing sores on my mouth. I was a shadow, an ugly and sickly shadow of the girl I used to be.

**Fang POV: **

I watched Max run to the bathroom and slam the door shut behind her. I heard the lock click. I punched the pillow next to me. She hates me. She is clearly repulsed by the idea of kissing me. I hadn't known why I was doing it at first. But, just looking at her next to me in bed had made something swell within me. I had wanted to her to curl up next to me and let me hold her. I had wanted to envelope her until there was no ending or beginning between our bodies. I wanted her. I had wanted her since the day the sharks brought her in…I just couldn't bring myself to admit it. That's why I had kept my thoughts from Max. I didn't want her to figure out what my brain was still trying to process. I definitely care for Max. She is unlike any other person I have ever met. But, she won't want me back. She's not the type to let other people support her. Plus, she would hate me if she knew all the things I've done. She made that perfectly clear last night when she said that all memories are precious, even the bad ones. If she knew what I'd done to those bad yet precious memories, she would hate me even more than she already does.

I was about to leave the room when I heard Max call out to me from the bathroom. "Fang…are you still out there?"

"Yeah," I called back. I walked towards the bathroom, hope bubbling apprehensively in my stomach.

"Um…we bought disinfectant yesterday, right?"

I nodded then realized she couldn't see me. "Yeah."

"You think you could grab me some? And maybe a few bandages too?" Her voice sounded small and young.

"What's wrong?" I took another step closer to the bathroom door.

"Nothing…just the corset…"

"How badly is it infected?" I demanded as I leaned my head against the bathroom door.

"It's not bad…"

"You're lying," I accused. I heard her sigh through the door. She was definitely lying. "Hang tight," I said as I pushed off the door and grabbed the rubbing alcohol and bandages from the floor of our room. I had brought them up with me last night. "I got them," I announced as I walked back to the bathroom door.

"Cool…will you just hand them to me through the door?" Max opened the door a crack and stuck her hand out.

"I can bandage it easier than you can," I muttered.

"No…I can do it." Max's voice was firm but shook a little.

"Max, let me in," I insisted.

"No!"

"Max, be logical, you can't reach your back."

"Fang, you be logical," Max snapped. "I came in here to take a bath. I'm not wearing any clothes."

I could feel my face getting hot. "So," I said as nonchalantly as possible. "Cover yourself with your wings."

"You're a persistent son of a bitch, you know that?" Max hissed as the door swung open wider.

**Okay! Another chapter down. I'm starting on the next one right now. **

**Hope you liked it!**

**Nightwings93**


	25. Chapter 25

**See? I'm being really good about giving you guys lots of chapters! Hope you are enjoying them! Maybe now all the death threats will stop. Hahaha. **

**So, let's pick up where we left off with Max and Fang, yeah? **

**Enjoy! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-Three: Fang POV:

I hesitated and gripped the rubbing alcohol. Was she really letting me in? My head swam a little. This had to be a dream. I shook my head and walked into the bathroom. Max was sitting in the bathtub, the water reaching the small of her back. Her light brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. I resisted the urge to run my hands through it. Her snow-white wings were wrapped around the front of her body in a protective cocoon.

"Well hurry up," she snapped.

I looked at the corset in her back. It was puffy and red. The metal rings were tearing at her flesh. I could kill Ari. I will kill Ari. "Want me to undo the corset?" It couldn't be comfortable.

"That would be great. It is so uncomfortable," Max said gratefully.

I carefully untied the knot in the purple ribbon and started to unthread it. Max made a small hissing noise. "Sorry," I muttered.

"It's fine," Max replied through clenched teeth.

"It'll heal quickly," I promised as I pulled the thread through the last ring.

"I don't know. I mean, my lips-" Max stopped and cleared her throat. "I hope it heals fast," she amended quietly.

I had really screwed things up. She couldn't even say the word 'lips.'

I drenched a towel I had grabbed off of the bathroom counter in rubbing alcohol. "This'll sting," I muttered. Max nodded and I started dabbing her skin with the towel. Her body arched but she made no sound. "I'm not sure how to get the rings out," I apologized.

"That's okay," Max said. "It's just nice to have that ribbon untied. I can breathe normally again."

"Maybe Iggy can figure out a way to get the rings out," I suggested.

"Iggy?" Max asked in disbelief.

"He's good with his hands," I replied. My eyes started to follow the curvature of Max's back. I felt like I was being dared to look farther and farther down. I couldn't though. I looked up at the ceiling. I drenched several strips of gauze in disinfectant and plastered it to Max's back. Taking a fresh roll of bandaging, I started to wrap Max's torso. She begrudgingly loosened her wings so my arms could reach around her. Every time I came forward to wrap the bandage, my bare chest brushed against her back, my forearms raked across her ribs. My skin on hers. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I felt the same urge I had the night before when Max was sitting next to me in bed. The space between us was like agony. I needed to close the gap.

I moved away from Max and sat back on my heels, my heart pounding. "All done," I announced.

"Thanks," Max whispered.

"No problem." I stood and offered Max my hand. I looked up at the ceiling.

Max hesitated. I could feel the apprehension coming off of her in waves. Finally, keeping her wings securely wrapped around her body, she grabbed my hand. I started to pull her up when Max suddenly exclaimed, "Soap!"

I didn't understand what she meant until it was too late. Max slipped back and landed in the bathtub with a loud 'thump'- the water splashing all over the floor- and I toppled in after her. I instinctively let go of Max's hand and put my arms out to break my fall.

I looked down at Max. Her wings had unfurled. My hands were on either side of her head, my body looming over hers.

We stared at each other.

**Iggy POV: **

Nudge woke with a start. I could feel the violent shift in the bed; I could hear her breath whooshing out of her body. She was sitting up, alert. I could tell. I felt my eyelids open, even though it was pointless. I struggled into sitting position. It was too early for this. I was enjoying sleeping in a bed. It was much more comfortable than a cage.

"What's up, Nudgey?"I asked with a yawn.

"Max and Fang," Nudge replied quietly.

"At this hour?" I said feeling somewhat disgusted.

"What do you mean?" Nudge demanded.

"What do _you _mean?" I countered. She seriously couldn't be in the dark about this. We had definitely gotten really close before.

"They're finally starting to get along," Nudge snapped.

"As this hour?" I repeated.

"Not like that Iggy!" Nudge slapped my chest. "At least…" She giggled.

I swung my arm up and wrestled Nudge back in bed. "Come on, don't listen in on their private moments." I pulled Nudge closer. "We wouldn't want them listening in on ours."

Nudge sighed. "I'm rolling my eyes Ig." I felt her place her head in the crook of my shoulder. "I'm tired. We should go back to bed."

"My sentiments exactly. My wonderful superpower is telling me it's only 6:07."

"Max and Fang sure are lively," Nudge muttered.

"At this hour!?" I shook my head.

**Max POV:**

My whole body was shaking. My heart was threatening to pound out of my chest. I was trapped. Totally trapped. He could see everything. My wings were pinned behind me so I couldn't cover up. He's just staring down at me and I'm just staring up at him. Every inch of me is screaming "MOVE MOVE MOVE" but I'm frozen in place. No matter how much my body shakes, I can't actually move.

I desperately looked at Fang to see if he would take pity on me and move. His eyes were clam and locked with mine. His cheeks, however, were ever so slightly pink. Every water droplet on his chest shone like crystal.

Fang cleared his throat. "So…don't freak out."

Oh, no of course not. Normally a naked girl with an extremely attractive half-naked boy on top of her does not freak out. She simply waits patiently-maybe contemplates the meaning of life or what color she wants to paint her nails-while the bozo on top decides whether or not he's going to move. "Are you going to get off me?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"I think we should talk," Fang replied.

"NOW!?" If my arms weren't pinned to my sides, I would have slapped him.

Fang shrugged to the best of his ability. "Seems as good a time as any other." I glared at him. As good a time as any other? He couldn't be serious. "I think we should discuss last night."

"We slept," I snapped as my heart banged crazily in my chest.

"No, I mean the kiss," Fang replied calmly. How was he not freaking out right now? I wanted to punch him.

"What about it?" I could feel my cheeks turning even redder than they already were. My whole face probably looked like a tomato. "I'm sorry that was inflicted on you. It couldn't have been pleasant."

Fang's eyes widened slightly. "What are you talking about? It's wasn't unpleasant." I looked past Fang at the ceiling. He was just being nice. He couldn't mean it. "I was the one who kissed you," Fang reminded me.

"Right, and you regret it and you're trying to tell me not to mention it to anyone. Don't worry Fang. No one has to know and it'll never happen again. Now, will you get off me.?" I looked up expectantly at Fang.

Fang's jaw was set in hard line and his face had turned a dark red color. "Damnit, Max!" Fang yelled. He slapped his hand down next to my head. Water splashed over both of us. I flinched slightly. "You're not listening to what I have to say!"

"I'm all ears," I whispered. I hadn't meant to make him mad.

"I never said I regretted it. I don't regret kissing you. I just wanted to tell you why I did it and make sure you were okay with it." Fang inhaled sharply.

"I'm not sure I want to know why you did it," I said in a hushed voice.

Fang's face went blank. "Do you dislike me that much?"

"What? No…I just…"

"Then will you shut up and listen?" Fang demanded. I nodded, dreading what he was to say. If he asked me if I could care about him that way, I'm not sure the answer would be 'yes.' It wasn't that I didn't like him or didn't care for him…in fact, I think it's safe to say I'm already in love with him…but I don't think I could bear another heart-break if something were to happen. I took a fortifying breath and looked at Fang expectantly. "Okay. Look, I kissed you because I wanted to. I did it because…because I really like you. I care a lot about you. And I wanted to know if you, maybe, felt the same." Fang looked hopeful.

My chest started to ache. "Fang…I…I," I looked up at Fang. I could see the little silver flecks that were in his dark, swirling eyes. "Yes…I do…care about you, that is."

"Yeah?" Fang's head started to get closer to mine.

"But…"

Fang drew back. "But?"

"We can't do anything about it." I said assertively.

"Why not?" Fang's voice was gruff.

"Because…" I faltered. I didn't know how to say it. "What if something happens?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't…I don't think I'd be able to handle it if something happened to you…after what happened to my parents, I don't think…" I stopped. I felt absurd. I was bearing my soul to Fang, basically telling him I love him, and I was completely naked, in a bathtub. I shook my head. "Never mind, it's stupid."

Fang gripped my arms. "It's not stupid. Listen, I can't promise nothing is going to happen. Our situation is…not the most stable. We're not in the clear until things with Ari are taken care of. But, Max, I'd rather be with you and have the most amazing experience, even if it's short, than not have anything with you at all."

"Fang…it could go so wrong."

"Yeah, it could," Fang agreed. "But, I can't not do anything about the way I feel about you."

"If you like me so much, why have you closed off your mind?" I demanded.

"I didn't want to freak you out. I didn't want you to figure out how I felt until I could tell you myself," Fang answered.

"Oh." I looked up at the ceiling. "I sort of miss hearing your voice in my head."

Fang smirked. **So, you want to give this a shot?**

_Yes. _My heart hitched.

Fang smiled. Like, a real, full-blown smile. I'd never seen him smile like that before. Everything in the room seemed to light up his smile and my whole body felt warmer. Fang's head dipped forward, his hair falling over his eyes. One of his hands curled behind my neck and brought my face to his. Our lips touched lightly at first, it felt like being electrocuted softly. I reached up and tangled my hands in his hair and pulled him closer. Fang's other hand trailed down my body, sending little shockwaves through me. His hand gripped my hip. My body arched towards his. I could feel the metal rings in my back stinging…but I didn't care, my whole body was on fire anyway.

Fang nipped lightly at my ear then started trailing kisses down my neck. His lips lingered on my collar bone. I could feel him sucking lightly on my skin. My breath escaped from my mouth. I felt my cheeks heat up. I hadn't meant to make a sound like that. I felt Fang's deep rumbling chuckle vibrate on my skin as he moved farther down my body.

A loud knock sounded on the bedroom door. Fang sprang off of me and I sat up, covering myself with my wings. We stared at each other. Both of us had been pulled out of the haze we had been wrapped up in. What had we been doing? What were we about to do?

"Max? Fang?" Nudge's voice called from the other side of our bedroom door.

**Stay here. **Fang ordered as he got out of the tub. His pajama pants were soaking wet. He grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, and discretely shucked off his pants. Winking at me, he walked out of the bathroom.

I could hear the door creak as he opened it. "Yeah?" his deep voice asked. My body tingled.

"You and Max up?" Nudge asked. There was something odd about her tone.

"Max is still sleeping. I was just about the shower," Fang lied. He must have only opened the door a crack so Nudge wouldn't be able to see that I wasn't in the bed.

"Well, the rest of us are up. You guys should come down. Iggy is about to make breakfast. I think he's managed to find a way to whip up pancakes." I could hear the smile in Nudge's voice.

"Sure, we'll be down soon." Fang answered.

"Hurry. Gazzy seems pretty hungry."

"Hey, Nudge, about me yelling at you last night-"

"Yeah, I know," Nudge cut in. "Don't worry about it, okay?" The floorboard squeaked. Nudge must have started to walk away.

I got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around my body. I was glad to cover up; especially since I didn't have to see the stark white bandages that were covering my corset rings. I ran my hands through my damp hair. I was still shaking. My blood was screaming with the leftovers of the euphoria Fang and I had been living in for a few short moments.

What else would we have done if Nudge hadn't come?

Fang came back in the bathroom. His eyes briefly looked me over. He looked almost disappointed. "Breakfast?"

"Yeah. I'm starving."

Fang nodded and moved out of the way so I could walk into the bedroom. I grabbed my jeans from where I had hung them. Miraculously, they were dry. I checked Fang's pair. He wasn't so lucky. I looked over at him.

Acting completely un-phased, Fang opened one of the drawers in the dresser and pulled out a pair a of black cargo pants. He slipped them on. They fit perfectly.

"Guess I'm the same size as him now," he muttered.

Turning away from Fang, I changed rapidly. I pulled on a simple grey shirt and my jeans. Nudge had had the brilliant thought to cut slits in the backs of our shirts so our wings wouldn't get cramped.

I looked back at Fang. He had put on a wife-beater. I wasn't sure what to say to him. I wasn't sure how this was supposed to work. I felt extremely embarrassed. He had seen me without clothes on. Part of me wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Maybe we'd just ruined the easy friendship we had. Things could just end up being really awkward.

Fang held out his hand to me. "Ready?"

I hesitated. We couldn't hold hands in front of the others. "Yeah," I replied as I took his hand. We would have to stop holding hands before we got in the kitchen. My resolve faltered once Fang's strong, calloused fingers closed around mine. Electrical currents coursed through my body. Everything tingled as it remembered how those hands had touched me: gently but with urgency and desire. I never wanted to let go.

**Okay. Hope you guys liked this last chapter. Moving right along to the next! **

**Review if you feel like it**

**Nightwings93**


	26. Chapter 26

**More chapters! YAY! Things may seem great right now…but just wait. There's more drama to come! I love me some drama :) **

**WARNING: this chapter is super steamy. If you are super young or are not okay with sex, stop reading now. **

**Hope you are enjoying these. **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-Four: Max POV:

Fang begrudgingly let go of my hand right before we walked into the kitchen. Iggy was at the stove flipping perfectly formed pancakes. Gazzy and Nudge were talking by the sink. Everyone was in normal clothes: jeans and t-shirts. I let out small contented sigh. We looked like a normal family. It was nice.

"These look so good, Ig," I said as I opened the fridge and looked for something to drink.

Fang leaned against the wall next to the stove and eyed the pancakes. "How did you get them to be perfect circles?"

"I'm the master," Iggy replied.

"Nudge poured them," Gazzy informed us. "Iggy's just flipping them."

"Um, excuse me? Who made the batter for Nudge to pour?" Iggy demanded.

"It was a team effort," Nudge said as she rolled her eyes. "Male pride," Nudge mouthed at me. I smiled and nodded.

"So, on another note," Fang began, "will you and Gazzy make us a list of tools you'll need for making bombs?"

"Is there a hardware store near here?" Iggy asked.

"Hardware and electrical," Fang answered.

"It would just be easier if Gazzer and I went," Iggy said as he flipped another pancake. "Nudge, can you pour more batter?" Nudge crossed the kitchen and starting pouring perfect circles into the pan.

"That might arouse suspicion," Fang cautioned. "It would be better if Max and I went. People have already seen us in town."

"Shouldn't you and Max stay home and plan? You guys would probably come up with a better action-plan than us." Gazzy asked. "Besides, no one knows who we are in town, so why would they get suspicious?"

Fang and I looked at each other. "He has a point," I muttered. My heart sped up a little. I would be alone with Fang.

"I could go with them," Nudge offered. "You know, make sure they don't get in too much trouble."

Fang looked over at me again. "Uh…sure."

"Great, we'll go after breakfast. You'll give us directions?" Nudge poured more batter in the skillet after Iggy slid the finished pancakes on a plate.

"After these are finished, we can eat," Iggy said. "You're really crafty," I heard him whisper to Nudge. I don't think I was supposed to hear that.

_Sounds like they were planning on leaving us alone_

**I'm not complaining.**

…_Me either…_I felt my face heat up.

"Did you guys buy syrup?" Gazzy asked.

I looked at Fang. He shrugged. "I think so," I said as I looked at the through the cupboards. I shoved the food that we had bought out of the way until I found the bottle of Mrs. Buttersworth's syrup. I gripped the bottle.

"_**Honey, Daddy made pancakes!" My mom called from the kitchen. **_

_**I sprung from my bed. Dad finally had a Sunday off. We hadn't had a big family breakfast in ages. I ran downstairs. Mom and Dad were standing in front of the stove. Dad had just placed three perfectly formed pancakes on a plate. Mom buttered them and set them on the breakfast bar. **_

"_**Morning, Max!" My dad boomed. His voice was always big and cheerful. **_

_**I sat down in front of the pancakes. They looked delicious. "Mama, do we have any syrup?" I asked. **_

_**My mom started rifling through the cupboard. "Sorry, I forgot to pull it out." She shoved a few more things out of the way. "Got it. Good old Mrs. Buttersworth." **_

I stumbled back from the cupboard. I hadn't been prepared for that. I hadn't had nightmares about my parents lately and I'd been so preoccupied that I hadn't even thought about them for a few days. Waves of sadness washed over me. I could feel tears pricking my eyes. Then I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. Why hadn't thought of them lately? Was I forgetting them? Was I over their deaths already? Was that bad of a daughter? It had only been a few months.

"Here, Gaz," I muttered as I handed Gazzy the bottle. I pinched my nose in an attempt to stop the tears from coming out of my eyes. I looked around me. No one had noticed my little moment…accept Fang. He was watching me intensely. He raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch when he noticed I had seen him. I shook my head slightly. I didn't need to bother him with little emotional freak-outs.

"Oh, wow," Nudge said around a mouthful of pancake. Iggy had handed everyone a plate with pancakes, the syrup bottle was being passed around. None of us bothered to go sit in the dining room. "These are so amazing Iggy. This is the best thing I've ever had."

"It's not exactly like we've eaten anything else aside from stale bread and moldy fruit," Gazzy reminded Nudge.

"True, but my food is the best," Iggy replied.

Fang passed me the syrup. I looked down at my pancakes. I wasn't hungry any more. I grabbed the bottle anyway and drenched the pancakes in maple syrup. Fang was still eyeing me suspiciously. Using my fork, I tore the pancake into small pieces and started eating. Eat bite was like swallowing glue. My stomach churned with acid.

"I think Max should also teach us all how to fight," Fang said suddenly. "Bombs aren't going to be enough."

"Max knows how to fight…like, formally?" Nudge asked.

"You said you were in fighting school, right?" Fang was addressing me now.

I swallowed another sticky lump of pancake. "Uh, yeah."

"So you should teach us," Fang repeated.

"Okay," I replied quietly. I had never taught anyone before. It could be a disaster.

Fang and I stood on the porch and waved goodbye to Nudge, Iggy , and Gazzy as they started to fly towards the hardware and electrical store. It felt weird standing next to Fang like some married couple who were waving off their kids.

"You think they'll be okay?" I asked.

Fang smiled reassuringly. "They'll be fine."

My stomach lurched and rolled. "Excuse me," I mumbled as I rushed for the downstairs bathroom. I barely made it in time. I flipped up the toilet lid and my insides spilled out of my mouth. I fell to my knees.

"Max?" I heard Fang call. I could hear his soft footfalls on the carpeted ground.

"I'm fine!" I yell in between onslaughts of pancake and bile.

"You're a really bad liar," Fang said from behind me. I felt my hair being pulled away from my face.

_Thanks._

**No problem. **

_I really hope we have toothpaste somewhere. _

**We do. No worries. **

_I'm sorry about this. I'm sure it's not appetizing. _

**Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Besides, I've seen my fair share of barf in the academy. **

My body heaved one last time and I flopped to the side. There was nothing left. Fang sank to the floor next to me and leaned me against his chest. My body was shaking.

I wiped my mouth. "I should go get cleaned up," I muttered.

"You okay?" Fang asked.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You've looked out of it since breakfast."

"I think my body needs to readjust to eating normal food," I lied.

"You remember something?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Just a memory from when my parents were alive. It was the syrup," I muttered.

Fang nodded. "They come at the worst moments."

"Yeah…they really do." I looked up at the ceiling. "But I don't want to forget them."

"You won't. I promise." Fang murmured. His breath tickled my ear. "And one day you'll be able to think of them without pain."

I nodded. "Okay." I stood up. "I'm going to go get cleaned up." I started up the stairs and headed for the bathroom Fang and I shared.

He had held my hair back for me.

**Fang POV: **

I watched Max's back retreat up the stairs. She still wasn't opening up and being one hundred percent honest with me. Then again, I wasn't being honest with her. But, I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted her to know the ugly sides of me, even if she ended up hating me. I didn't want her to hate me…but I would understand if she did. I had done horrible things. I was still doing those terrible things, really, by keeping my secret from everyone. None of them would forgive me if they knew.

Maybe I could redeem myself. Max wouldn't have agreed to a relationship if she didn't see something in me. Max was so good. Maybe just getting her to love me would be enough. If I just did everything by the book with Max, maybe my sins with the others would be washed away.

I had done it to protect them, truly I had. But, maybe I'd done more harm than good. They would hate me if they knew. Maybe I was doing all of it out of selfishness. Protecting them, watching over them: were they all for self-satisfying means? I liked feeling needed by the others. I liked the idea that they wouldn't be able to cope without me. Was all this a power trip for me? Was I really so dirty? Was my soul that unclean? I'm not that different from Ari then. What makes me better than him?

Max.

Max makes me better than him. I can do it. I can become a real human being as long as I have Max by my side.

"Fang?" I heard Max call from the upstairs bathroom.

I gave a start. I was still sitting next to the toilet in the downstairs bathroom. **Yeah?**

_Come wrap my torso? I can't do it myself. _

I felt a surge of pride. Max would only ever ask me to help her. She needed me.

Was it the same with Max? Maybe it wasn't so different from the others. Did I just want Max to need me? Was this whole relationship for self-gain? Do I even know how to love another person?

**Gazzy POV: **

I miss Angel. Every moment of every day. I can't bring myself to hate her. She may have betrayed us, but she's my sister. I could never hate her.

Everything I saw somehow reminded me of her. As we flew over the cornfields, I saw a little bunny hopping through the rows. Angel would have loved that. She would have wanted to swoop down, stop, and say 'hi' to the cute animal.

I watched the way Nudge and Iggy flew close together, Nudge telling every detail of everything to Iggy. Angel and I had been that close once. Well, not in the exact way Nudge and Iggy are (they think I don't know but it would take a moron not to). But, we used to talk to each other about everything. We used to just hang out quietly together. We supported each other. She was strength and I was hers.

I didn't know what to do without her bobbing blonde head next to mine. I felt lost.

"Hey, Gaz," Nudge shouted at me. She was far below me. "We're going down!"

I quickly started to spiral down after them. I was totally out of it. I didn't know how I was going build bombs with my head in the clouds. I really hope I don't accidentally blow the house up.

**Max POV:**

I was done with my shower. My back was smarting. The water stung my raw skin. The old bandages lay in a crumpled mess on the bathroom floor. They were streaked with blood. I picked nervously at the flannel sleep shorts I had put back on. They were so much more comfortable than my jeans. My wings were wrapped around my front. I had shamelessly asked Fang to come up and re-bandage my corset wounds.

I checked my breath in my hands. I had found toothpaste and used my finger to brush my teeth. If I tried really hard, I could probably wrap my own wounds. But, I didn't want to try. I just wanted to be with Fang.

I was clinging. But I didn't care. I wanted to be with him. I love the way he looks at me. I love that he makes me feel important. Makes me feel beautiful. I love that he holds my hair back when I'm a total barfing mess. I wasn't really being fair to Fang. Was I with him for totally selfish reasons? I should worry more about the way he feels than the way he makes me feel. Isn't that what it means to love someone?

The door creaked open. "Okay to come in?" Fang asked. His voice was like velvet. It washed over me and wrapped me in a warm, safe blanket.

"Yep," I replied. I turned my back to the door and kept my wings firmly wrapped around my chest.

I saw Fang appear in the mirror. Every aspect of him made my breath catch in my throat. Even the most perfect male model could not compare. Fang grabbed the gauze and the rubbing alcohol. Fang pressed the drenched gauze to my back. I bit my lip. It felt like I was on fire. Using the roll of bandages, Fang started to wrap the binding around my torso. His skin brushed across mine. It was like fire…but the pleasant kind, not like the kind on my back.

"Okay?" Fang asked.

I nodded. "Thank you."

I reached for my tank-top on the bathroom counter but Fang stopped me. His hand gripped my wrist. He spun me quickly. His free hand slipped under my chin. His lips were on mine: warm and gentle. Fireworks exploded behind my eyes in vibrant colors.

I clung to Fang. My hands clutched fistfuls of the back of his shirt. I wanted to tear his clothing away so that nothing stood between our bodies. I didn't want anything to stop our skin from touching. Fang pulled at my waist until our bodies were stuck close together. He shoved my wings out of the way, his hand leaving my chin and trailing down my body. His fingers danced over my breasts. My whole body was shivering. My whole body was arching into Fang. I didn't want there to be any space between us. I couldn't bear the space. It was becoming painful.

I ripped Fang's shirt from his body. Our skin melted together. Fang suddenly crouched down and swung me into his arms bridal style.

"We're doing this properly." Fang's voice was almost animal like. I brought my head down and kissed him as he walked us to the bed. Fang laid me down gently on the bed. "This okay?"

I nodded. The space between us was killing me. For a moment, Fang hesitated. There were hints of fear, hope, apprehension, and excitement in his eyes. I couldn't bear his body being this far from mine. I knotted my hands around his neck and pulled him down on top of me.

Fang obliged and carefully straddled my pelvis as he used one of his elbows to prop himself up so he didn't completely crush me.

He brought his lips to mine. Slowly, I felt his lips working mine open. I resisted for a moment then relaxed. Fang's tongue slipped into my mouth. My body reacted on its own. Our tongues played with each other as Fang's free hand explored my body. My pelvis raised and brushed against his. I could feel Fang groan into my mouth.

Fang's lips left mine. His face swam above mine for a moment. There was mischief in his eyes. His head disappeared. I felt his lips and hair tickle my naked body. I let out a little giggle as my body arched closer to Fang's. Fang was radiating heat. I wanted to close the gap between us once and for all. I felt an aching hole within my body.

I felt Fang tug at the waistband of my shorts. My body arched again. I brushed against Fang. It was like grinding against a rock. A warm and tender rock. I looked up at Fang. He saw that I was okay with it. For a moment, as I felt the shorts make their way down to my ankles, I was taken by a surge of fear. Was this really going to happen?

Fang waited as he sensed my apprehension. I took a deep breath, relaxed, and let Fang in.

**So…I hoped that was okay. Like I said before, things seem pretty perfect now, but just wait! **

**Review if you want. **

**Nightwings93**


	27. Chapter 27

**WOOHOO! LOOK HOW MANY UPDATES! **

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-five: Fang POV:

I watched Max as she slept. Her head rested on my chest, her hair splayed in a perfect halo. With her white wings she looked like an angel. Every time she exhaled her breath tickled across my bare skin. I had one arm wrapped around Max's waist keeping her close against my body. She had fallen asleep fairly quickly, but I couldn't seem to calm down enough to get any rest.

It had been amazing. Amazing and then terrible. I wanted Max to wake up so I could talk to her. I needed to know how she felt about it. I needed to tell her things before the others got back. I couldn't help but feel a crushing sense of guilt. I had brought us so close together. We had been one…but it was all based on a lie. She would never have wanted to be close to me if she knew. But now…now …

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. I didn't regret it. I had wanted it for so long and it was better than I could have imagined. But I was worried that Max would regret it. She definitely would once she found out. Everything was my fault. I had just complicated things by throwing sex into the mix.

Everything suddenly felt very hot. It was almost as though touching Max was burning me. My legs started feeling twitchy. I had to move. The longer I lay till, the more I felt like I was drowning. I didn't want Max to wake up and find me gone but I couldn't stand to stay still…and in my parents' bed. I felt even worse.

Very carefully, I unwrapped my arm from around Max's waist and slipped out from underneath her. I put a pillow under her head where my chest had been. Max stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Pulling the covers over her body, I reached over her and grabbed my pants. I slipped them on as I crept out of the room.

I tiptoed down the stairs. The floorboards creaked mercilessly. I winced every single time. Max was going to wake up for sure. She'll be so pissed when she wakes up and finds me gone. Better she starts getting mad now. It's better that she's angry than hurt. It'll make everything I have to say easier.

I entered the kitchen and started rifling through the dusty cupboard. I found an old can of ground coffee beans. Tentatively, I popped open the lid. The coffee beans smelled like heaven. They didn't look bad either. I rummaged through several other cupboards until I found the coffee maker. I had almost forgotten where my dad had put everything in the kitchen. It had been so long since I had been in my house.

I plugged in the coffee machine and said a silent prayer that it still worked as I loaded it with ground beans and water. I pressed the start button. After a heart-stopping moment, the coffee machine surged to life. The familiar gurgle and drip of the coffee maker gave me some comfort and I relaxed a little.

I watched the dark liquid fill the glass container. I had only had coffee one other time. My mom had loaded a mug with steaming black coffee, milk, and copious amounts of sugar. She called it a café au lait. It was really good.

I was about to grab the coffee pot and pour myself a cup when arms suddenly snaked around my waist. I almost dropped the coffee.

"Hey," Max's voice purred like a kitten. "Thanks for making coffee." Her head was resting against my back between my wings.

I tensed. Why wasn't she angry?

**Gazzy POV: **

I walked through the hardware store behind Iggy and Nudge. They walked really close together. They weren't holdings hands but their arms kept brushing. I rolled my eyes. We all knew they were an item. I didn't understand why they bothered to try and hide it. It's not like any of us would be mad or unsupportive.

I picked up a length of PVC pipe. It was about an inch in diameter. "Hey, Ig, we should use this." I held it up for him to see then realized my mistake.

"Use what?" Iggy asked as he turned around. He only sounded mildly irritated.

"PVC pipe. Inch diameter," I clarified.

"Yeah…grab three," Iggy replied. "We also need copper wire. Can you go find us some?"

"You could have just said if you wanted to be alone with her," I grumbled.

"What?" Iggy demanded even though I knew he heard. Nudge had blushed even.

"I'm gonna go get that copper wire." I turned on my heel and started down another aisle. We would need more than copper wire. I should just get everything and let Nudge and Iggy make out somewhere in the back of the store.

I could feel the bitterness and anger coming back to settle in my stomach. Iggy has Nudge. Fang has Max. I have no one. No sister. No family. I was the fifth wheel messing up a perfectly oiled machine.

**Nudge POV: **

"Shh," I giggled as I pulled Iggy into the storage room of the hardware store. "Gaz will take care of getting what we need." I pushed Iggy against the wall the leaned in close. "He took the hint earlier." I pressed my lips aginst Iggy's.

"God, woman," Iggy grumbled as he ran his hands through my hair. "Your appetite."

"A life in a cage eating moldy bread and rotting fruit leaves one mighty hungry," I said against his mouth. "You know-"

Iggy cut me off as he smashed his lips to mine and flipped us so I was sandwiched between him and the wall. "Will you shut up for once?" He ordered as he grabbed my leg and brought it around his waist.

**Max POV: **

"Mmm…Fang," I mumbled as I started to wake up. I could feel him under me. Soft and warm. "Hey, I-" I stopped. I was on top of a pillow. I looked around the room. Fang wasn't there. I scrambled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. He wasn't in there either.

I looked down at my body. I was still naked. Did he regret it? I felt for the bandages around my torso. They were gone. Did he see my back and get disgusted? Is he having second thoughts? Did I make a mistake?

I sat on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands. It had been so amazing for me. Maybe it hadn't been the same for him. I felt so complete. We had been one. It was like nothing else mattered. Fang and I were the only people in the world for a few wonderful moments. And now that he was gone, I felt like I was searching again. I was searching for Fang to fill the emptiness like he had. I wanted him. I needed him. But, somehow, I knew it would never be like that again. It would never be my first time again. And I would never have Fang to share these moments of the aftermath with. He was absent. I had wanted him to be there when I woke up. I had expected it.

"Don't cling, Max," I muttered. "There's a perfectly good reason as to why he's not here right now." There better be a really good reason.

I grabbed my pajama bottoms and tank top from the floor and slipped them on. Maybe he was making us something to eat. Maybe he needed some air. Maybe he regretted it.

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking. I left the bedroom and headed down the stairs. I hopped off the last step and immediately wished I hadn't. My back spasmed just as I started to feel the ache between my legs. I hadn't realized how sore I would be. The next few steps into the kitchen were uncomfortable, painful even.

Fang was in the kitchen. I relaxed a little. He was making coffee for us. I'm sure he was going to come back upstairs after he finished making it. He probably didn't expect me to wake up before he got back.

Just seeing him, my anger melted away. I was so happy to see him. I couldn't help it. I walked behind him and put my arms around his waist.

"Hey," my voice purred like a cat. I had no idea I could sound like that…sexy, almost. "Thanks for making coffee." I rested my head between Fang's wings. I could feel him tense under me.

"Uh…yeah." Fang grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and wiped them clean of dust.

I unwrapped my arms and stepped away. He felt so distant. I reached out with my mind. The brick wall was back. I couldn't reach him. He definitely regretted it. I sat on the edge of the kitchen counter. It felt like I was going to cry. I hadn't expected this at all.

"How do you like your coffee?" Fang asked.

"Milk and sugar," I replied gruffly. We had been so happy just a little bit ago. "How long before the others get back?"

Fang shrugged. I shoved some things around in one of the cupboards until he found an old tin box full of sugar cubes. Grabbing the milk from the fridge, he placed the coffee, sugar, and milk in front of my with a spoon. He then took his own mug of coffee and started plopping sugar cubes in. "I like milk and sugar too," he muttered.

I stared into my mug of untouched coffee. The swirling dark liquid looked like Fang's eyes. I remembered the way his eyes had looked when he was over me. So full of love, desire, and tenderness. Now I'm sure I would find them cold and blank. He regretted it. "Just say it Fang," I demanded.

"Say what?" Fang looked very nervous all of a sudden.

"You know exactly what I mean. Don't play stupid." I started pouring milk in my coffee. "It was a mistake."

"You think so?" Fang looked hurt for a moment before his face turned to stone again.

"No…I didn't." I could feel tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. "But then I woke up alone…and you clearly seem to think you made a mistake. You regret it. Obviously. Who could blame you."

"How could you say that I regret it? How can you presume to know what I feel?"

"Well, I wouldn't have to presume if you would let me in once in a while. I never block my mind from yours." The tears were definitely going to fall.

"I don't regret it…It's just…I…" Fang stopped and I suddenly felt an enormous wave of guilt come from him.

"Why would you feel guilty about it? It's not like you forced me. I wanted to." I scooted off the kitchen counter and walked over to him. I grabbed him hand and looked into his eyes. "Tell me. Please."

"I tricked you," he whispered.

"No, you-"

"WE'RE BACK!" Nudge yelled from the front room.

"Is it safe? Are you decent?" Iggy called.

I took a step back from Fang. _Please talk to me. _I begged. It was useless. It was as though my words were being sent to a black hole. He was pushing me away. I could feel a tear run down my cheek. I scrubbed it away.

"We're in the kitchen!" I yelled back. "You guys want some coffee?" Fang turned away from me and headed into the living room.

Iggy and Nudge walked in. They each had a bag full of supplies for making bombs. They put them down on the kitchen counter. "I've never had coffee before. What's it like? What's it do? I once heard one of the scientists say that he couldn't live without coffee. He said it was the only thing that could wake him up in the morning. Does it wake you up? I'm already awake. Is it tasty? What's it look like? Will I like it. Will-" Iggy covered Nudge's mouth.

"I really don't think she needs coffee," Iggy said. "It'll just make her worse."

I forced a smile. "Where's Gazzy?"

"Should be here…" Iggy muttered.

I walked into the foyer. Gazzy was standing by the door. He looked really dejected. My heart broke for him. I went over to him. "Hey, Gaz."

He looked up surprised. "Oh…hey Max. Why are you here?"

"You didn't come in the kitchen. I was worried. You okay?"

"I'm surprised you noticed I wasn't there," Gazzy mumbled.

"Of course I noticed!" I cried. A motherly instinct surged in me, and I squeezed Gazzy in a tight hug. "I'm sorry about Angel. I can't imagine what it's like to have a sibling betray you like that…but I'm sorry all the same." Gazzy tensed a little. "You're not alone Gazzy. You've got us. We're your family and you're ours. We wouldn't be the same without you. You are an important member of this flock. Okay?"

I felt Gazzy nod. Slowly, he pushed out of my hug and looked up at me. His eyes were a little red. "Okay…thanks Max."

I smiled. "Anytime. So, you want some coffee?"

"Nah, I heard it does weird stuff to you, and I got bombs to build." Gazzy gave me a small smile.

"Okay."

"Hey, Gaz!" Iggy yelled from the next room over. "Come to the dining room. I need your help with these bombs! You know I can't build a damn thing without you."

Gazzy smiled for real and grabbed his bag of supplies from the hardware store. "He's so needy," he whispered to me as he ran towards the dining room.

I walked behind Gazzy into the kitchen and grabbed my mug of coffee.

"Any game plan yet?" Nudge asked me as she sipped her coffee. "You know, it's really good once you put sugar and milk into it."

"Fang and I hadn't had the chance to talk over strategy just yet," I muttered. I sure as hell better not be blushing.

Nudge smirked. "Yeah…I figured. It's okay. We've got time."

I raised an eyebrow at Nudge. "So you guys guessed."

"You'd have to be a moron not to."

I sighed. "Yeah…well I don't think it's going to work after all." I was surprised by how calm I was being.

"No!" Nudge cried. "You guys are perfect together." Nudge slammed her coffee on the counter. "The two of you need to stop being so damn prideful and so damn scared. Get your heads out of your asses and just accept that you love each other. It really doesn't have to be as dramatic as the two of you make it!"

I stared at Nudge. I could feel my mouth hanging open.

Nudge blushed. "Sorry."

"No…um…it's fine. I'm just…I'm just going to go take a shower, okay?" I set my coffee down and started for the stairs.

Nudge grabbed my arm. "Don't be hurt by every little thing Fang does wrong. He's new at relationships and he's clearly got a lot of trust issues…and he's got a lot pent up. A lot of secrets. He loves you. I know he does. So…don't give up, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks Nudge." I walked up the stairs mulling Nudge's words over. I hoped to hell she was right…but I couldn't help but feel like all of Fang's secrets would ruin us.

**Okay…so, I'm writing more right now. I promise. **


	28. Chapter 28

**See? Just like I promised- updating rather quickly now :) **

**Moving right along and picking up where we left off.**

**Enjoy! Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-Six: Max POV:

I let the water run for several minutes before I stepped into the shower. The water was still a little rusty when I first turned the shower on. I let the water run over my sore body. It stung as it hit my raw back. I would definitely be scarred for the rest of my life. I touched my lips. They would scar too. I was hideous. Despite what Nudge had said earlier, I just knew that Fang regretted sleeping with me.

I staid under the water for what felt like hours. Finally, my fingers started to turn to prunes so I got out. I wrapped a towel around my body and looked in the mirror. I almost screamed. I took a step back. It wasn't me in the mirror…but it was.

It was a perfected version of me. My lips weren't chapped and scarred. There were no holes where my lips had been sewn shut. My cheeks weren't so gaunt and my eyes looked bright and healthy. And my hair…my hair wasn't brown but blonde. More than the hair color and the healthy glow, something else was off about my face. I looked almost shiny. Translucent and shiny. And my face was pinched. I looked pinched. And smug. It was the me from my dream about the lake.

Suddenly Fang appeared behind me. I whipped around. He wasn't there…but he was in the mirror. He touched the girl in the mirror gently. She turned towards him, and they kissed. I doubled over and clutched my heart. It felt like someone was burning the heart out of me.

Suddenly my body lurched upwards and I was forced to look in the mirror by an invisible force. The girl in the mirror smirked back at me. She was holding the front of Fang's shirt. He was looking at her completely smitten. He took absolutely no notice of me.

"You see this, Max?" The girl in the mirror asked. "He's mine. He was promised to me. You can't have him. I won't let you."

Then she was gone and the invisible force holding me up was gone too. I had to clutch the bathroom counter so I wouldn't fall over. I looked in the mirror. I was back. I looked sickly and pale. My lips were chapped and scarred and there were small holes all around my mouth.

"Max?" There was a tentative knock on the bathroom door. "You okay? You've been in there a while." It was Fang.

I straightened. The searing pain in my chest had dulled to a constant throb. "Yeah. Fine," I replied, my tone clipped.

"Will you come out?" Fang asked.

I secured the towel around my body and walked into the bedroom. I looked at Fang and felt my face crumble. Why couldn't he love me? I loved him so much. I wished he didn't regret it. I didn't regret it. I would never regret it.

Fang's face suddenly reflected mine. He punched the wall. His fist left a dent. "Dammit. Why am I such a coward? God, Max, I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to go like this. I never wanted to hurt you." Fang grabbed me and sat me down on the bed. He kept his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

"What am I forgiving, Fang?" I asked. I could feel myself shake slightly. "Am I forgiving that you weren't there when I woke up? Or am I forgiving all the secrets of your past that you keep torturing yourself with?"

"Both. Everything. Please, forgive it all."

"I forgive you," I whispered. Relief washed over his face. "But, this is going to keep happening. You'll never feel right about us or about anything unless you forgive yourself."

"I can't."

"Tell me. Please. I want to help. Keeping everything locked away isn't helping." I grabbed Fang's shirt front. "Please."

"I'll show you," Fang muttered as he pressed his forehead to mine.

_I was in the kitchen of Fang's house when it was still in good condition. _ _A smaller version of Fang sat on the kitchen counter. There was the smell of burning toast. Fang was staring wide-eyed at Ari who was leaning against the refrigerator. _

"_Why are you here, Uncle Ari?" Fang asked in a small voice. He could sense that something wasn't right. _

"_Your dad got called away on urgent business. He didn't have time to find a babysitter. So, you're stuck with me." Ari smiled. Fang could tell it was fake. _

"_Oh." Fang wanted to get his toast form the toaster but didn't want to walk past Ari. He had never trusted his uncle. _

"_You know, I heard a story Nicholas." That was another reason Fang didn't like Ari. No one called him Nicholas. His mom had started calling him Fang when he started carrying around the first wolf's fang from his father and the name had stuck. No one called him Nicholas. Only grandmama was allowed to call him Nicholas. She said it in a way that made him feel special. "Don't you want to know what story I heard?" _

_Fang nodded because he didn't want to make Uncle Ari mad. Uncle Ari always seemed like he was on the verge of exploding. _

"_I heard that your dad has a secret."_

_Fang tensed. How could Ari know about dad's secret? No one knew but Fang and his dead mom. _

"_He does have a secret, doesn't he?" Ari sounded excited. "Will you tell me?" _

_You can't tell. It's a secret. Dad would be furious if you told. It's none of Ari's business anyway. Don't tell him. Don't. Fang looked blankly at Ari._

"_Come on, tell me. Tell your Uncle Ari. You won't get in trouble. What's the secret?" _

_Don't tell. Don't open your mouth. You can't. Don't tell. _

"_Tell me! It's alright! JUST TELL ME!" _

_No! Don't tell him. You can't. It's not your secret to give. If you tell…it would be worse than death. _

_Ari walked forward and gripped Fang's shoulder. His breath tickled Fang's face as he spoke. "You remember your great-grandpa? The one who left your grandpa, my dad, the dance academy? Well, now your grandpa's dead…and he left the studio to me. He said that there was something your dad had that he wanted his dancers to have. You can make grandpa's dream come true. Tell me the secret."_

_Don't open your mouth! "Okay…I'll tell you."_

_Ari smiled hungrily. "Go on, tell me."_

_Fang licked his lips. He didn't want to tell his dad's secret but Ari scared him. "Dad…Dad's got…he's got, um, he's got…wings." _

_Ari frowned. "Wings?" _

_Fang nodded. _

"_Don't lie, Nicholas," Ari ordered harshly. _

"_I'm not!" Fang insisted. _

"_Prove it." _

_Fang sighed and hopped off the kitchen counter. He pulled his shirt off and turned around. Small black wings peaked out from his shoulder blades. "See…I…I've got them too."_

"_Extraordinary," Ari breathed. "What else can you do?" _

_Fang didn't want to say but he didn't want to upset Ari. "Um…Dad told me that we're stronger and faster than everyone else. We can hold our breath longer…Dad says he has more stama…stamin…stamina." _

"_Yeah…and I bet you can do other things." _

"_Dad can move things…with his mind," Fang confessed. _

"_And what can you do?" _

"_We don't know yet. My powers come when I'm older."_

The scene faded away and I was back on the bed with Fang. I could feel guilt radiating from him. Fang moved his face from mine. His eyes were still shut tight. "See?" he asked. "It's all my fault. All of this. Ari never would have captured people to build a super-human troop of ballet dancers with wings if I had never told him my dad's secret."

"Fang, you were eight."

"Yeah…and I knew better." Fang squeezed my shoulders. "I'm sorry. This never would have happened to you if I had kept my mouth shut."

"Fang, I'm not angry with you."

Fang opened his eyes. "What?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm not angry with you. You were eight and scared. And you couldn't have known what Ari would have done…besides, Ari was so determined, I'm sure he would have gone about much more unpleasant means of discovering your dad's secret." I pulled Fang a little closer. "Is this what you meant when you said you tricked me? Is that why you felt guilty? Did you think I couldn't love you if I knew this?"

"Yes…" Fang muttered.

I sighed. "Fang, you can't keep carrying this guilt. It's been weighing you down for eleven years. You were eight. You did what any eight-year-old would have done. Why are you holding yourself to an impossible standard?"

Fang stared at me. "What?"

"Why are you holding yourself to an impossible standard?" I repeated. "You can't beat yourself up over something you can't change. It's all in the past. You can't look back on your actions with the heart and mind of a nineteen-year-old and expect your eight-year-old self to have acted like you would now."

I watched Fang's face as it screwed up in utter agony and then relaxed. He features became softer than I'd ever seen them before, and he somehow looked more open. There was a rising swell of guilt before it seemed to disappear entirely. "You're right," he breathed. "You're right."

I figured this wasn't the best time to tell him that I'm always right.

**Fang POV: **

I felt lighter. Freer. I don't know why but something Max said made me feel free. I didn't hate myself nearly as much as I had in the past. The more I thought about it, the more her words made sense. I couldn't expect an eight-year-old boy, who was scared and alone, to keep a secret; so, why was I expecting that of myself?

I'm sure that the guilt will come back more violently sometimes but right now it seemed to be ebbing away. I could never totally be free of it. In the deepest reaches of my soul, I still believe that all this is my fault, but Max had managed to make it more bearable.

"Can I ask you one more question?" Max asked. Her cheeks were turning a little red. It was really cute.

I nodded.

"So…you definitely don't regret it?" She looked down at her hands.

I scoffed. "Regret it? How could I? It was…great." That sounded lame.

Max giggled. It was the most musical sound ever. "It was pretty great."

"Are you okay?" I asked suddenly. I remembered there was some blood.

Max blushed again. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"You sure? 'Cause now is not the time to be acting all tough and stoic."

Max smiled. "I'll live."

"That's good. We'd all be really screwed if you died on us." I smiled too. It was so easy to smile around her.

"I don't know how you guys got along without me." Her stomach grumbled suddenly.

I chuckled. "Maybe we should ask Iggy to take a break from bomb building. I'm starving too."

Max grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom. I could hear her say from the other side of the door: "I'm curious to see what he can manage to whip up with the crap we brought." Max walked through our room and started for the hallway. "I still don't understand how he knows how to cook…I thought he had no memory of his past."

And as easily as the guilt had gone, it came back in new waves for a whole different reason. I was still lying to her.

**Max POV: **

I expected Fang to follow me downstairs. He didn't. But I couldn't really find a reason to mind: he had a lot to process right now. I'm sure he could do with some alone time. He needed to figure things out in his head without other people there offering their opinions. I just hope that he'll stop blaming himself. This really isn't his fault.

I blamed myself after my parents' deaths. Somehow, as their child, I felt it was my responsibility to keep them safe…but it's the other way around, right? It's the parents' jobs to keep the child safe. My parents did that to the best of their abilities. They really gave me everything I ever needed. Not always what I wanted but definitely what I needed.

I wish they were here right now. They would know what to tell Fang in order to make him feel better.

"Hey, Ig," I called as I walked into the dining room. Wires and pipes and other things that I'd never seen before were strewn all over the large wooden dining table. "It looks like a hardware store threw up in here." Nudge laughed. Gazzy looked offended. "Anyway, are you guys at a stopping point?"

Gazzy finished screwing a few pipes together. "I think so," he replied.

"Why do you ask?" Iggy looked in my direction expectantly.

"I'm kinda hungry. We skipped lunch. Can we have a sort of early dinner?" I answered.

Iggy thought for a moment. "It has been a long time since our last meal." Iggy ran his long fingers over several of the objects on the table. "We can't continue anyway."

"Why not?" Nudge asked.

"We forgot to buy cement," Iggy explained.

"Why do you…never mind. I don't want to know," I muttered.

"I can go buy cement while you cook dinner, Ig," Gaz offered.

"You're okay going alone?" I really didn't want him going alone.

"Yeah, I remember where it is. Really, it's no problem. You have some cash, right Max?" Gazzy looked at me with his big blue eyes. What if something happened to him? As if guessing my thoughts, Gazzy said: "Nothing's gonna happen. I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere. I can handle it."

I sighed. "Okay." I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a wad of cash from where Fang and I had hid the money. I had no idea how much concrete cost. "You sure you can carry it back?" I asked as I walked back into the dining room with the money.

"It's a mix…it's not like I'll be carrying cinderblocks back," Gazzy chuckled.

"Okay, whatever. Be careful, yeah?" I felt stupid.

"Yeah, okay mom. I'll be fine." Gazzy grinned at me as he left the dining room. After a few moments I heard the front door close.

"I'm not like a mom," I muttered.

"You totally are," Iggy corrected.

"Just get in the kitchen," I ordered.

"No on appreciates the cook," Iggy grumbled as he walked into the kitchen.

"I appreciate you Iggy," Nudge offered as she followed Iggy into the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and headed back upstairs. Maybe Fang was feeling a little better now.

I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked in the direction of Fang's old room. I couldn't imagine carrying that guilt for eleven years. I couldn't imagine seeing my dad die at the age of eight: I could hardly handle it at eighteen. Fang had seen so much tragedy in his short life. It wasn't fair. He is so good. He doesn't deserve the life he's got. He deserves to be free. I want to give him that freedom. Freedom and happiness.

I continued on to the master bedroom. When I opened the door, I saw that Fang was still in the same position as when I left him. He almost looked a little worse: like all the guilt had come back while I was gone. I sat down next to him.

"Iggy's starting dinner," I said quietly. "And Gazzy flew back to the hardware store to get some cement."

Fang nodded. He seemed emptier than before he revealed his past.

"Hey, Fang." No response. "Fang…I need you to be a little more awake for this."

Fang stirred himself and actually looked at me. It looked as though he was being tortured.

"What if we just forgot all about it?" I waited for a reaction.

At length, Fang replied: "Forgot about all what?"

"Revenge. Beating Ari. Storming the academy. What if we just went off somewhere? Forgot about Ari, this house, the past? We could start over-completely fresh. You, me, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and a deserted island."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He was angry. Well, at least he wasn't comatose.

"Fang, all this guilt, obsessing over revenge, it's not good for you. It's not going to get any better once you beat Ari, either. Revenge can't ease your guilt. It can't bring your dad back. It-"

"What the hell do you know about it?" Fang demanded. His voice was cold and hard. "What the hell is all this bullshit you're spewing? What are you: a therapist? I don't need counseling; especially not form you. You know nothing about it. You didn't grow up like I did. Forget about it? How the hell can I forget about it? Look at what Ari has turned me into! Look what he's turned you into. He destroyed lives and families. Nothing good can come of having him around. He needs to be stopped. No one else will so it's up to us. It's up to me. I started this; I'm going to finish it." Fang stood up suddenly and started pacing. "I mean what the hell Max? I thought you understood. I thought you got it. How can you be so cavalier? Don't you want to avenge your parents?"

"I don't think my parents would want to see me throw away my life and let revenge drive me," I whispered.

"So you don't get it!" Fang yelled.

"You're not living your life like you could, Fang. You're wasting it. You'll have nothing left if you let this revenge rule your life. I was just thinking earlier about my parents. About what they would say to me if they were still here. They would tell me to go live my life. Let the past stay in the past and start over fresh."

"God, Max, can you stop being so self-righteous for, like, two seconds? You're not always right, you know. What is with you? Is it Pick at Fang Day? Why can't you just let my business be my business? God, we never should have…" Fang stopped and looked at me. I knew what he was going to say.

"Yeah…maybe not. Look, forget I said anything. Just forget it."

Then, as if on cue to help dispel the tension that was fogging the room, there was a knock on the door.

**Yeah…so kind of a rollercoaster this chapter :P **

**hope you liked it. **

**Nightwings93 **

**(review if you feel like it)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Nothing to say except this: I hope you guys are liking these new chapters!**

**Nightwings93 **

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Gazzy POV:

I found the hardware store no problem. Walking through the 'downtown' area once, anyone could navigate it no problem. Even people with a terrible sense of direction.

I walked into the hardware with a sense of purpose. I was going to be helpful. Iggy would see just how valuable a member of the flock I am. I know I can never hold a candle to Nudge…but there had been a time when Iggy was less concerned with girls and more interested in talking about bombs and the like with me. I miss those days. Well, not the time spent in a cage.

I found the cement mix no problem. The bag wasn't even that heavy. Flying it home would be no problem. I smiled as I walked up to the cash register. Iggy would see. He would.

"Hey," the man behind the counter said as he rung up the price. "You were in here earlier right? With the tall blond kid and the black girl?"

I nodded. Why did he care?

"Good, your uncle was looking for you."

"My uncle?" I asked. I felt a chill go down my spine. Before I could turn and run, there was a hand gripping my shoulder. Hard.

"There you are, kiddo. I've been looking everywhere for you," an oily voice cooed. "Thank you for your help, sir"

"My pleasure. Have a nice day now." If only the cashier knew. He wasn't helping anyone.

"C'mon." The hand on my shoulder turned me and pushed me forward. The vice-like grip never loosened.

We rounded the side of the building. There was a black van waiting.

"I'm not going to tell you where they are, Ari," I spat trying to act tough. I wasn't going to let him see me afraid.

"I don't need you to. They'll come to me. You can count on it."

**Max POV: **

Nudge poked her head in the door. She looked like she was near crying. She had definitely heard the whole argument between Fang and me. There were no secrets in this house: not with a girl with super-sonic hearing.

"Um…dinner's ready." That was the shortest sentence I'd ever heard Nudge say.

"Okay, thanks. We'll be right down," I replied quietly.

"Um, also, Gazzy isn't back yet," Nudge muttered.

"What? How long has he been gone?" I asked. I was already standing without my realizing it.

"Iggy said it's been exactly 32 minutes and 8 seconds since Gaz left." Nudge looked like she was going to cry again.

I looked at Fang. He was standing too now, so I had to crane my neck. "It shouldn't take that long, should it?"

Fang shook his head, his expression dark. "It's a five minute flight, tops."

"He also knew exactly where the cement was. We walked by it on our first trip to the hardware store," Nudge supplied.

"Shit." Fang hissed.

"Maybe he got some extra things?" I said hopefully. Yeah right. Fang glared at me. Apparently, I was really in the dog house. I'm not even allowed to hope. "Let's go downstairs," I muttered as I walked past Nudge.

In the dining room, Iggy had cleared away the bomb making supplies and was setting the table with the spice orange placemats.

"Gazzy should be back by now," Iggy said when he heard us enter the room.

"Yeah," I mumbled. I knew I shouldn't have let him go. I knew something bad would happen. This was my fault.

"We should split up and look for him," Fang said.

"No way," I countered. "That's too dangerous. If we split up, they can pick us off easier."

Fang looked like he wanted to snap my neck. "You guys stay here then and I'll go check Main Street. If I'm not back in twenty minutes, start worrying."

I blocked Fang's way. "You can't go. Either we all go or no one goes."

"How about Nudge and I go. You guys stay here and figure out all this sexual tension," Iggy grumbled.

"No!" I shouted. "And that is really not helping, Iggy."

A loud, angry knock sounded at the front door. Everyone froze.

I grabbed two of the steak knives off the table and threw one to Fang. He caught it easily. I slipped the other in my back pocket.

"Stay here," I mouthed to Nudge and Iggy. I beckoned Fang with my hand.

Slowly, Fang and I crept to the front door. Fang pressed himself against the wall by the door and held the knife at the ready. I placed my hand on the door knob. Fang nodded. I threw the door open.

No one was there.

I breathed a sigh of relief. A white slip of paper was on the doormat. I stooped down and picked it up. Closing the door, Fang and I walked back into the dining room.

"What is it?" Nudge asked in a small voice.

I read the note aloud. It had been penned in a perfect square hand:

**Caught One. Chirp, chirp, birdies. **

**Ari**

"Shit. So he did get Gazzy," Fang hissed.

"He knows where we are now," Iggy said the color draining from his face.

"He always knew." Fang punched the wall. "I was too predictable. He knew I'd come here. He knew I wouldn't be able to stay away."

"Wha-"

I cut Nudge off: "He wants us to go to him."

Fang nodded. "And we will, too."

"We can't leave Gazzy," Iggy stated.

"It's a trap though. He's even told us as much in his note. We'll get creamed." Nudge shuddered. "But, Gaz doesn't deserve to be in a cage ever again. We have to go get him."

Everyone looked at me (well, Iggy looked in my general direction). "What? Of course we're going to get him." As if they thought I would say no.

So, the decision was unanimous. Our mission to destroy was now a rescue and destroy mission.

We ate dinner in relative silence. Iggy was tinkering with bombs while he was eating. Nudge was watching him in awe. Fang was stewing. I was stewing. The tension was so thick between Fang and me that even Iggy could see it.

While we were arguing, Fang was going to say that we should never have had sex. Maybe he was right. It had already complicated things to no end. But his words still stung. How could he say I was self-righteous? How could he say any of those things to me? How could he think I didn't understand? For the longest time, I wanted nothing but revenge. I guess thinking about what my parents would want for me, I got over it. Maybe that meant I was a bad daughter. Should I want to avenge them? Should I want to see Ari tortured and in pain? Maybe I was just being selfish. Maybe I wanted to move on so I could forget. But…hadn't I once told Fang that I didn't want to forget anything, even if those memories were painful?

I looked over at Fang. He looked so much older than nineteen when he brooded. His eyebrows were etched together, his lips set in a grim line. His cheekbones prominent in his god-like face. I hated seeing him like this. Even though he was keeping his thoughts and feelings securely locked away, I could still tell he was in pain. I had caused that pain, I thought guiltily. Revenge has been holding Fang together for so long that my questioning has probably turned his world upside down.

How could I do that to him? Maybe he was right…maybe I didn't understand. But I should. Revenge may not be the best way, but Fang was right: Ari shouldn't be allowed to live. And, if revenge somehow helped ease Fang's guilt, helped wipe away some of his pain, I would do it. I would do anything for Fang. Anything.

"Do you have a game plan?" Iggy asked suddenly.

I felt myself blush. I had forgotten about that.

"Yes," Fang replied.

"Care to enlighten us?" Iggy prompted.

Fang looked at me for a moment before explaining. "You and Nudge stay here. Max and I will go get Gazzy."

"That's not fair!" Nudge cried. "Gazzy is our brother too! We have a right to go rescue him just as much as you and Max!"

"I agree with Nudge," Iggy interjected.

Fang shook his head. "Look, if just Max and I go, we'll be easier to hide. It's easier to coordinate maneuvers with just two people. Plus, Max has had formal training in fighting, and she hasn't had time to teach anyone else. She can teach me quickly as we fly there. It's hard to train more than one person at a time. Plus…I'm not putting anymore of you guys at risk."

"But it's okay to put Max at risk?" Iggy clarified.

He had a point. I should probably be offended. Oddly enough, I wasn't.

"Like I said, Max has formal training. She can take care of herself," Fang grumbled.

"I still think it's a terrible idea," Iggy countered.

"Me too!" Nudge jutted out her chin defiantly.

"Iggy, make as many bombs as you can in three days," Fang ordered ignoring their protests.

"I need the cement," Iggy reminded Fang. "Gazzy was buying it when he got captured."

"Go buy some them," Fang replied.

"Fang, I don't think-" Fang glared at me and I stopped talking. Man, he was really pissed at me. I mean, if looks could kill.

"Fine. Nudge and I will go," Iggy snapped. He slammed the bomb he was tinkering with on the table. "Let's go."

"There's cash on the table by the front door," I called after them. "Maybe I should go," I whispered to Fang. I got up and ran after Iggy and Nudge. "Hey, guys, I think I should go. I really don't want anything to happen to you two. For some reason I don't think Ari will try and capture me. I think he wants me to go to him…so, let me go get the cement?"

Iggy shook his head. "I think I'm going to punch Fang if I stay in this house much longer. Who got him all worked up anyway?"

I looked down. "That was me…sorry."

Iggy shrugged. "Goes to show how much he loves you. You're the only one who can affect him like this…Well, you and Ari."

"Yeah…right now I think he hates me almost as much as he hates Ari." It was so comforting to be compared to Ari.

"Hate is the cousin of love…or something," Nudge muttered.

"Anyway, we'll be fine," Iggy reassured me. "I don't think it would be good if Fang and I came to blows before we go rescue Gazzy."

"So, you guys are coming?" I smiled.

"How could we not?" Nudge asked. "Gazzy's part of our family. We're not going to let Fang keep us from coming just because you got his knickers in a twist."

"Knickers?" Iggy asked.

"It's, like, British or something…for underwear," Nudge replied.

Iggy opened the door and started leaving. "Jesus, woman, the things you say."

Nudge giggled and followed Iggy out.

I couldn't help but feel like I was sending them into the lions' den.

I paced back and forth in the living room. Fang was sitting on the couch drawing out a map of the forest that surrounds the dance academy.

"Max, stop," Fang ordered.

"They should be back by now," I hissed. "I knew I shouldn't let them go. It's been at least forty minutes. God, Iggy's useless power would come in handy right now."

"They're fine. They probably snuck off to make out somewhere," Fang grumbled.

"They wouldn't do that. They know what the situation is like. They already knew I was worried about them going…they wouldn't make the trip longer than necessary." I started pacing faster.

"Max! I get sea-sick every time I look up and see you pacing!" Fang said harshly.

"Then don't look at me!" I snapped.

There was a sharp knock at the door.

Fang stood quickly. The color drained from his face. "Shit."

We ran to the door. I didn't bother with the knives. I knew what was coming. I wrenched the door open. The slip of paper was on the doormat.

**Now I'm starting to think you're just delivering them into my hands. **

**Stop being so careless, birdies. **

**Ari**

"Shit, shit, shit," I cried as I slammed the door shut. "I knew this would happen. I shouldn't have let them go." I glared at Fang. "What are we going to do now? There're two of us and hundreds of sharks. We have no bombs, no weapons. What the hell are we gonna do genius?"

"…I don't know," Fang muttered.

"Well, start thinking!"

"I am…if you would shut up and let me think," Fang quipped.

"Fine…you think about it. You can even sleep on it: on the couch!" I yelled as I stormed upstairs.

I kicked the door to the bedroom shut and sat on the bed heavily. I drew my knees to my chest. We'll never be able to rescue everyone if we keep arguing. Fang and I needed to be united against Ari. I didn't want to fight with Fang. I hated that he was mad at me. I hated that I was mad at him. It was for a stupid reason too…well, not completely stupid. But still, we had more pressing matters.

I banged my head on my knees. This was a disaster.

**So…more action coming. Things are gonna get pretty intense. This is it for tonight though. I probably won't have a chance to update until this weekend... but I'll try to have something up by Thursday if I can. **

**Review if you feel the need. **

**Nightwings93**


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